Sawt Falasteen - Trump reiterates US need to 'have' Greenland ahead of Vance visit

Since coming to power in January, Trump has repeatedly insisted that he wants the self-governed territory to be in Washington's grip, refusing to rule out the use of force to do so.

"We need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it," Trump told podcaster Vince Coglianese. "I hate to put it that way, but we're going to have to have it."

Greenland, which is seeking independence from Denmark, holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves though oil and uranium exploration are banned.

It is also strategically located between North America and Europe at a time of rising US, Chinese and Russian interest in the Arctic, where sea lanes have opened up because of climate change.

Asked if he thought Greenlanders were eager to join the United States, Trump said he did not know.

"We have to convince them," he said. "And we have to have that land, because it's not possible to properly defend a large section of this Earth, not just the United States, without it."

- Dogsled visit dropped -

Trump's latest strident comments come as Vice President Vance is due to accompany his wife Usha on a visit to the US-run Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Friday.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede had earlier harshly criticized plans by a US delegation to visit the Arctic island uninvited for what was initially a much broader visit.

Egede had characterized the initial plans as "foreign interference," noting that the outgoing government had not "sent out any invitations for visits, private or official."

On Wednesday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen welcomed the decision to limit the visit to the US space base.

"I think it's very positive that the Americans have canceled their visit among Greenlandic society. They will only visit their own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against that," he told public broadcaster DR.

Formerly known as Thule Air Base, the Pituffik Space Base is the United States' northernmost military installation and supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance missions.

The White House on Tuesday said the Vances' visit to the space base would take place in lieu of the second lady's scheduled visit to a dogsled race in Sisimiut, where an anti-US demonstration was reportedly planned.

- 'Respect this process' -

Greenlandic officials have repeatedly said the territory does not want to be either Danish or American, but is "open for business" with everyone.

According to opinion polls, most Greenlanders support independence from Denmark but not annexation by Washington.

Following March 11 elections, Greenland has only a transitional government, with parties still in negotiations to form a new coalition government.

Egede has called for "all countries to respect this process."

Marc Jacobsen, a senior lecturer at the Royal Danish Defense College, called the decision to limit the US visit "a de-escalation," a term also used by Foreign Minister Lokke.

"You do not come to another country when you haven't been welcomed," he told AFP.

Jacobsen added that the planned anti-US demonstration in Sisimiut, after a similar protest in the capital Nuuk on March 15, may have also factored into Vance's decision to contain the visit.

"Perhaps we could also see demonstrations like we saw in Nuuk just a couple of weeks ago where a lot of people had signs showing 'Yankee go home' and 'We're not for sale'," he said.

F.Qawasmeh--SF-PST