COPENHAGEN/WASHINGTON >> Greenlandic leaders have criticized a planned trip this week by a high-profile U.S. delegation to the semi-autonomous Danish territory that President Donald Trump has suggested the United States should annex.

The delegation, which will visit a U.S. military base and watch a dogsled race, will be led by Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, and include White House national security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

Trump has made U.S. annexation of Greenland a major talking point since his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., paid a private visit to the vast, mineral-rich island in January.

Greenland’s outgoing prime minister Mute Egede called the delegation’s visit, which runs from Thursday to Saturday, a “provocation” and said his caretaker government would not meet with it.

“Until recently, we could trust the Americans, who were our allies and friends, and with whom we enjoyed working closely,” Egede told local newspaper Sermitsiaq. “But that time is over.”

The Greenlandic government, Naalakkersuisut, is currently in a caretaker phase following a March 11 parliamentary election won by the Democrats, a pro-business party that favors a slow approach to independence from Denmark.

Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the Democrats, called for political unity and said the visit by the U.S. delegation during coalition talks, and with municipal elections due next week, “once again shows a lack of respect for the Greenlandic people”.

Brian Hughes, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said the U.S. delegation’s visit “presents an opportunity to build on partnerships that respects Greenland’s self-determination and advances economic cooperation”.

“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,” Hughes said.

HEAVY SECURITY

Two U.S. Hercules military transport planes arrived in Greenland’s capital Nuuk late on Sunday, carrying security personnel and bullet-proof vehicles, Sermitsiaq reported.

Around 60 police officers from Denmark also arrived in Nuuk on Sunday, state broadcaster KNR reported.

Greenland’s strategic location and rich oil, gas and mineral resources could benefit the U.S. It lies along the shortest route from Europe to North America, vital for the U.S. ballistic missile warning system.

Waltz and Wright plan to visit the Pituffik space base, the U.S. military base in Greenland. The White House said they would receive briefings from U.S. service members there.

They will then join Vance to visit historical sites and attend the national dogsled race.

Vance said in a video posted by the U.S. consulate in Greenland that her visit aimed to “celebrate the long history of mutual respect and cooperation between our nations”.

Trump, who first floated the idea of buying Greenland in 2019, has renewed his calls for the U.S. to take over the island since his return to the White House in January, and he has not ruled out using force to achieve this aim.

The governments of both Greenland and Denmark have voiced opposition to any U.S. takeover.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a written comment reacting to news of the U.S. delegation’s visit that “this is something we take seriously”.

She said Denmark wanted cooperation with the United States, a NATO ally, but on the basis of “the fundamental rules of sovereignty”, adding that Copenhagen and Greenland’s future government would both be involved in any talks with the U.S. regarding the island.

Additional reporting by Stine Jacobsen.