US vice president to visit Greenland, joining American delegation

​​​​​​​By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) – US Vice President JD Vance announced Tuesday he will join a controversial American delegation visiting Greenland this week, escalating geopolitical tensions about the future of the Arctic territory.

Vance, in a video on X, framed the trip Friday as a national security mission, while Greenlandic and Danish leaders condemned it as an "aggressive" power play.

He said he plans to visit US guardians in the Space Force on the northwest coast and check on the security on the island. He claimed threats from unspecified countries have long been used to exploit Greenland’s territory to threaten the US, Canada and Greenland.

“We want to reinvigorate the security of the people of Greenland, because we think it's important to protecting the security of the entire world,” he said.

The visit, which includes second lady Usha Vance, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, follows Trump’s repeated public interest in acquiring Greenland. The autonomous Danish territory holds strategic Arctic positioning and mineral resources.

Vance criticized past neglect of the island. "Unfortunately, leaders in both America and in Denmark, I think, ignored Greenland for far too long,” he said.

Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede called the US delegation “highly aggressive,” accusing Washington of demonstrating “power over us.” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen denounced the “unacceptable pressure,” while the EU reaffirmed support for Denmark’s sovereignty.

Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, citing its importance for US security and “even international security.”

Greenland, the world’s largest island, has been an autonomous territory of Denmark since 1979. Situated between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, it is rich in minerals and strategically located in the Arctic.

Greenland’s Prime Minister-elect Jens-Frederik Nielsen recently urged European countries to stand with the territory, asserting that it is not for sale.