A planned trip by U.S. administration representatives to Greenland this week shows “a lack of respect for the Greenlandic people” given government negotiations are still ongoing, according to the territory’s election winner, Jens-Frederik Nielsen.

Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance, will travel with her son and a delegation to Greenland on Thursday. Mike Waltz, the U.S. national security adviser and Energy Secretary Chris Wright will also fly to the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, the Financial Times reported.

They are the latest Donald Trump allies to visit, following a trip by Donald Trump Jr. in early January, as the U.S. president ramps up his rhetoric that the U.S. should take control of the island.

“This is friendliness, not provocation,” Trump told reporters later Monday when asked about confusion in Greenland about the nature of the visit. The U.S. president said the delegation was “invited” by people in the territory, without identifying them.

“They really like the idea because they have been somewhat abandoned, as you know, they haven’t been taken good care of,” Trump continued. “And I think Greenland is going to be something that maybe is in our future.”

Greenland’s political parties are in talks to form a coalition following a general election earlier this month, which saw Nielsen’s Demokraatit come out as the election winner, making him the likely incoming premier of the territory.

“The fact that the Americans know we are in the middle of coalition talks and haven’t even completed the municipal election, but still choose this moment to visit Greenland, once again shows a lack of respect for the Greenlandic people,” Nielsen said in an interview with Sermitsiaq, referring to elections slated for next week where towns across the territory vote for councilors.

The delegation has been “clearly informed” that no official meetings can take place until a new government has been formed, the territory’s caretaker Prime Minister Mute B. Egede said in a post on social media. In an interview with Sermitsiaq, he said U.S. pressure was “very aggressive” as he called for a broader international response.

Even if the visit is claimed to be private, it is a “pure charm offensive,” Nielsen told the newspaper. “If we allow ourselves to be influenced by it, for example by rushing the formation of a new coalition, we may become even more vulnerable to pressure.”

Both Greenlandic politicians underscored the importance of unity against the pressure from the U.S. administration.

The U.S. visitors are expected to go to Pituffik, where the U.S. air based is located, Sisimiut to watch a dogsled race, and Greenland’s capital, Nuuk.

Denmark is dispatching police officers to Greenland to help handle the security around the U.S. visitors, broadcaster DR reported. About 40 police officers and two police dogs have already arrived in Greenland, Sermitsiaq reported, citing local Greenlandic police.

“We are looking at this very seriously,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in an emailed statement, adding that the visit “can’t be seen in isolation from the official comments.”

While Denmark is open to strengthened collaboration with the U.S. in Greenland, “it must be a cooperation based on the fundamental values ​​of sovereignty and respect between countries and peoples,” she said, adding any dialogue with the U.S. on that will take place in close coordination between the Danish government and the future Greenlandic government.

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(With assistance from Sara Sjolin, Christian Wienberg, Akayla Gardner and Hadriana Lowenkron.)

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