COVETED REGION
With no officials to welcome the US delegation, “they will be pushing this point that ok, nobody’s in control here, there’s a need for us to step in”, Pram Gad said.
He said the choice to send Usha Vance was part of a “sham” charm offensive.
She will be “saying nice things about Greenlandic cultural heritage”, while “at the same time you send a guy who’s an ex-Marine in charge of security at a time when there is no-one to talk to in charge of foreign and security policy for Greenland”.
Meanwhile, the inclusion of Chris Wright “sends the signal that we’re after resources here”, he said.
Greenland holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, including rare earths crucial to the green transition and seen as a potential springboard to independence.
Oil and uranium exploration are banned, however, and there are only two active mines due to the complexity of mining in the inhospitable climate.
Greenland is also strategically located in the Arctic between North America and Europe, with rising US, Chinese and Russian interest in the region as climate change opens up shipping routes previously covered by ice.
According to opinion polls, most of the island’s 57,000 inhabitants of Greenland support independence from Denmark but not annexation by Washington.
Trump’s son, Donald Jr, also made a visit of several hours to Greenland in early January.
