"We need" Greenland, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, following Washington's decision, welcomed by Denmark, to limit its delegation's visit to the autonomous Danish territory.

"I hate to say it like this, but we're going to have to" take possession of the vast Arctic territory, Donald Trump added, two days before Vice President JD Vance's visit to Greenland.

These statements are likely to anger the Greenlandic and Danish governments, which had already strongly criticized the unsolicited arrival of a high-level delegation, including the announced visit of JD Vance's wife for a dog sled race, the deployment of a security vanguard with armored vehicles to Nuuk, and the possible visit of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

They appeared to have won their case, with JD Vance announcing that he would only visit the Pituffik military base. Danish diplomats welcomed the US reversal and clarified that there was no longer any question of travel elsewhere in the autonomous Danish territory.

"I think it's very positive that the Americans are canceling their visit to the Greenlandic company. Instead, they will visit their own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against it," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told DR radio.

"The cars (of the American delegation, editor's note) that were delivered a few days ago are being brought home, and the wife of the American vice president and his security adviser will not be visiting the Greenlandic company," he said.

"The case is being closed, and that is positive," said Mr. Løkke.

"I'm the foreign minister, so I have to speak diplomatically, but in many ways this is a masterful pirouette to make it look like an escalation when in reality it's a de-escalation," he said.

Greenland's outgoing Prime Minister, Mute Egede, denounced "foreign interference" on Monday, and the interim government reiterated that there could be no invitation or official meeting due to the lack of an executive in place.

Since the legislative elections of March 11, Greenland has been in the midst of negotiations with a view to forming a government coalition.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had criticized "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland and Denmark and promised to resist it.

- "Arctic Security" -

Vance will visit the space-focused base on Friday "to be briefed on Arctic security issues" and meet with troops, his office said Tuesday.

The Pituffik base "is used for missile launch detection, missile defense, and space surveillance missions," the US vice president said. Donald Trump justifies his interest in Greenland by the need to strengthen "international security" there.

Marc Jacobsen, a lecturer at the Royal Danish Defence College, said the decision to limit JD Vance's visit was "a de-escalation."

"The fact that the Greenlandic and Danish authorities are telling you that you are not welcome is significant," he told AFP.

"The risk of negative coverage in the media and on social media may have weighed even more heavily," he added, recalling that a demonstration was planned for Sisimiut, following an initial anti-American demonstration in the capital Nuuk on March 15.

Basically, the expert believed that the only country threatening Greenland was the United States. "China or Russia (...) have no interest in attacking Greenland," he said, and they have "no activity" there currently.

Since December and Donald Trump's first announcements of his intention to acquire the immense Arctic island, his political class has emphasized that it is not for sale, but "open for business."

In a poll conducted at the end of January, the Greenlandic population overwhelmingly expressed opposition to the idea of joining Washington.

A territory four times the size of France, Greenland attracts covetousness for its supposed mineral wealth, which remains largely unexploited.