After Trump interest, Denmark’s prime minister to visit Greenland

Meanwhile, Greenland wishes to establish a respectful relationship with the United States, he said.

“Talking about annexation and talking about acquiring Greenland and not respecting the sovereignty is not respectful. So let’s start by being respectful to each other and build up a great partnership on everything,” he said.

During his visit to a U.S. military base in northern Greenland on Friday, Vance accused Denmark of not doing a good job of keeping the island safe and suggested the United States would better protect the strategically-located territory.

Frederiksen, who has said it is up to the people of Greenland to decide their own future, called Vance’s description of Denmark “not fair.”

Opinion polls show that a majority of Greenland’s 57,000 inhabitants support independence from Denmark, but many warn against seeking independence too quickly, fearing Greenland could be worse off and expose itself to U.S. interests.