U.S. Vice President JD Vance had time to swing heavily at Denmark during his quick visit to Greenland.
A misdirected frontal attack, says former Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.
A lot of what Vance says is completely taken out of thin air, at best, he says.
JD Vance landed on Friday afternoon Swedish time with Air Force 2 at the Pituffik space base in northern Greenland. He had lunch with the staff, was given a tour, gave a speech and answered a few questions from journalists.
After just a few hours, the Vice President and his wife Usha Vance were in the air again – on their way back to the USA.
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen hits back and calls the criticism unfair.
For many years we have stood side by side with the Americans in very difficult situations,
she writes in a statement.
Drude Dahlerup, a political scientist at Stockholm University, believes that the criticism of Denmark is strange.
JD Vance says that it was safer in Greenland 30 years ago. But it is the U.S. that has had the complete right to have all the military it wants in Greenland since 1951. So in that case it is the U.S. that has not done enough and reduced its presence on the base, she says in SVT's live broadcast.
Despite JD Vance pointing out a greater security threat to Greenland than before, he did not want to go into any details about what he believes the threat looks like.
But we know that China is very interested in this island, he says, mentioning economic pressure and military exercises.
He also believes that Russia is showing great interest in Greenland.
If China and Russia protect national interests, we need a president who protects the national interests of the United States, and that means ensuring that Greenland is safe.
The speech contained several inaccuracies, notes former Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.
What Vance says about Russian and Chinese incursions is complete fantasy. I am not aware of any Russian or Chinese warships that have even been near Greenland in historical times, he says in Aktuellt.
Source: SVT.se (in Swedish)
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