AN UPCOMING VISIT to Greenland by US Vice President JD Vance’s wife Usha Vance, along with National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, has been denounced by the country’s Prime Minister Mute Egere. 

The Office of the Second Lady of the US issued a statement today announcing Thursday’s trip, saying the delegation would be visiting historical sites, learning about Greenland’s culture and attending its national dog sled race. 

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright will also be joining the delegation. 

“It should be said clearly that our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference,” Egede said, adding that this week’s visit “cannot be seen as just a private visit”.

Negotiations over the formation of a new government are ongoing in Greenland following elections held earlier this month that saw the centre-right Democrats come out on top. 

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— Second Lady Usha Vance (@SLOTUS) March 23, 2025

Since returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has said he wants to take control of the world’s largest island “one way or the other”, and refused to rule out using military force to do so. 

Trump’s son Donald Jr also made a visit to Greenland in early January.

Egede said Washington had been told there would be “no talks” until a new Greenlandic government was in place.

“We must stand together and stand up against unacceptable treatment. Because we are the ones who decide our own future,” Egede said.

Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the Democrats and likely the next Greenlandic prime minister, has previously criticised Trump’s rhetoric as “inappropriate”.

Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory seeking to emancipate itself from Denmark, holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, although oil and uranium exploration are banned.

Greenland is also strategically significant in geopolitical terms due to its location in the Arctic. Geographically, it is closer to North America than to Europe and is also home to a US military base.

The country has its own flag, language and institutions. However, Greenland’s judiciary, monetary policy, defence and foreign affairs all remain under Danish control.

The Greenland government also relies on Denmark for more than half of its budget and the subsidies it receives from Copenhagen amount to a fifth of its GDP.

According to polls, most Greenlanders support independence from Denmark but not annexation by Washington.

Denmark has responded to Usha Vance’s planned visit by sending extra personnel and sniffer dogs to Greenland, in order to beef up security, the chief spokesman for Denmark’s national police said today. 

Rene Gyldensten said that the extra officers, deployed the day before, were part of regular steps taken during visits by dignitaries to Greenland, a self-governing, mineral-rich territory of American ally Denmark.

Citing office procedure, they declined to specify the number of extra police flown on the chartered flight.

With reporting from AFP and Press Association