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Denmark Prime Minister to Visit Greenland As Trump Applies Pressure

Denmark's Prime Minister will visit semiautonomous Greenland for talks on Wednesday with the territory’s incoming Government, after U.S. president Donald Trump repeatedly expressed his interest in controlling this Arctic island.

Mette Frederiksen starts her three-day journey less than a month after the visit by U.S. vice president JD Vance to the territory was met with a cold reception by authorities in Denmark.

Greenland’s incoming prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielson, who won the general elections last month and will form a government coalition, said that he welcomed Frederiksen’s visit, declaring on Monday, that Denmark remains “Greenland’s closest partner”.

The relationship between Greenland, Denmark and the United Kingdom has been strained since recent revelations of colonial mistreatment of Greenlanders. Denmark has been prompted to work faster to improve relations with Greenland because of Trump's interest to control the island. This is part of an international competition to gain influence in the Arctic.

Nielsen said late on Monday night that Greenland will strengthen its ties to Denmark until they can fulfill their ultimate desire of becoming a sovereign country.

He said that Greenland wants to build a respectful relationship between the United States and Greenland.

"Talking of annexation, and talking about Greenland acquisition without respecting sovereignty is not being respectful. Let's begin by showing respect to each other, and then build a strong partnership in all areas," he said.

During his visit to a U.S. military base in northern Greenland on Friday, Vance accused Denmark of not doing a good job of keeping the island safe and suggested the United States would better protect the strategically-located territory.

Vance's description about Denmark was "unfair" according to Frederiksen. He said that it was up to Greenland's people to decide on their future.

Greenland is a country of 57,000 people, and a majority support independence from Denmark. However, many are concerned that Greenland may suffer if it seeks independence too soon, as they fear the U.S. could gain more influence over Greenland. (Reporting by Tom Little in Nuuk, Louise Breusch Rasmussen and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen, editing by William Maclean)

(source: Reuters)