JD Vance with his wife Usha Vance during his swearing in ceremony. AFP File photo.
Copenhagen: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen denounced Tuesday a US delegation visit that now includes Vice President JD Vance to Greenland, the Danish island coveted by President Donald Trump, as putting "unacceptable pressure" on both the territory and her country.
Vance said he would join on Friday his wife Usha, who announced plans for a three-day visit starting Thursday to attend a dogsled race in Sisimiut.
"There was so much excitement around Usha's visit to Greenland this Friday that I decided that I didn't want her to have all that fun by herself, and so I'm going to join her," Vance said in a video.
He said he would visit US Space Force members based in the autonomous Danish territory but also "check out what's going on with the security" of Greenland.
According to the Arctic island's outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede, US national security adviser Mike Waltz will also visit Greenland this week, while US media have reported that Energy Secretary Chris Wright will travel there as well.
The visits, presented as private, have angered Danish and Greenlandic politicians.
"You can't organise a private visit with official representatives of another country," Frederiksen told reporters.
The visit comes at a time of political flux in Greenland, where parties are still negotiating to form a new coalition government following a March 11 general election.
"This is clearly not a visit that is about what Greenland needs or wants," Frederiksen told broadcaster DR.
"That's why I have to say that the pressure being put on Greenland and Denmark in this situation is unacceptable. And it's pressure we will resist."
