US Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to visit Greenland on Friday, amidst President Donald Trump’s renewed insistence on Washington taking control of the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Vance’s trip plan has been scaled back after initially infuriating authorities in both Greenland and Denmark, and will now involve flying to the US military base at Pituffik in northern Greenland.
The delegation is expected to land at around 1530 GMT, with Pituffik being a crucial location along the shortest route from Europe to North America and vital for the US ballistic missile warning system.
Under a 1951 agreement, the US is entitled to visit its base whenever it wants, as long as it notifies Greenland and Copenhagen.
The initial plan involved Vance’s wife, Usha, visiting a popular dog-sled race on the island with national security adviser Mike Waltz, despite not being invited by authorities in either Greenland or Denmark.
Waltz, who is facing pressure over Trump administration officials’ discussion of sensitive Houthi attack plans on the Signal messaging app, will still accompany Vance on the trip.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen deemed the initial plans unacceptable, while Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen welcomed the revised visit as a positive step.
Greenland’s acting Prime Minister Mute Egede called the visit a provocation, citing the country’s ongoing government formation after the March 11 election.