US delegation to visit base in Greenland amid Trump push for annexation

A high-profile U.S. delegation will travel to Greenland this week to visit an American military base located there as President Donald Trump continues to promote  annexation of the semi-autonomous Danish territory, Reuters reported.

Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, will lead the delegation that includes White House national security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, according to the report. Waltz and Wright plan to visit the Pituffik space base in Greenland, it said. They will then join Vance to visit historical sites and attend a national dogsled race.

The U.S. team is “confident that this visit presents an opportunity to build on partnerships that respects Greenland’s self determination and advances economic cooperation,” said Brian Hughes, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, according to Reuters. “This is a visit to learn about Greenland, its culture, history, and people and to attend a dogsled race the United States is proud to sponsor, plain and simple.”

Greenland became the focus of international attention in January when Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., arrived at the newly opened Nuuk airport. Since then, the U.S. president has doubled down on his pledge to make the Arctic island part of the U.S., as he eyes its wealth of rare earth minerals critical for high-tech industries.

The Greenlandic government, which is in a caretaker period after a March 11 general election won by a party that favors a slow approach to independence from Denmark, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comments.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a written comment reacting to news of the visit that “this is something we take seriously,” Reuters reported. She said Denmark wants to cooperate with the U.S., but it should be cooperation based on “the fundamental rules of sovereignty.”