Denmark prime minister to visit Greenland as Trump applies pressure

NUUK, Greenland (Reuters) - Denmark's prime minister will visit semi-autonomous Greenland on Wednesday for talks with the territory's incoming government, following U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated expressions of interest in controlling the Arctic island.

Mette Frederiksen begins her three-day trip less than a week after a visit to the territory by U.S. Vice President JD Vance received a frosty reception from authorities in Denmark and Greenland.

Greenland's incoming Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who won last month's general election and will form a coalition government, has said he welcomes Frederiksen's trip, stating on Monday that Denmark remains "Greenland's closest partner".

Relations between Greenland and Denmark have been strained after revelations in recent years of historical mistreatment of Greenlanders under colonial rule. However, Trump's interest in controlling Greenland, part of a growing international focus on competition for influence in the Arctic, has prompted Denmark to hasten work to improve ties with the island.

Nielsen told Reuters late on Monday that Greenland would strengthen its ties with Denmark until it could fulfil its ultimate wish to become a sovereign nation.

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.

(Reporting by Tom Little in Nuuk, Louise Breusch Rasmussen and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen, editing by William Maclean)