Vice-President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance have visited the US Pituffik Space Base in Greenland as President Donald Trump continues to push for the US to take over the Danish semi-autonomous territory
Speaking to troops, Vance says military force is not necessary for the US to expand its presence in Greenland and that locals will want to choose to align with the US instead of Denmark
The vice-president says Denmark "has not done a good job" for the people of Greenland and the US needs to step in
He also says Russia and China are increasing their footprints in the area and the world cannot "bury our heads in the sand - or in this case in the snow"
Vance's trip was scaled down after a row with the governments of Greenland and Denmark over a lack of invitation
Greenland's new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen tells reporters the trip "is not showing respect for an ally", while a resident of the capital Nuuk Karl-Peter tells the BBC he is "worried" about Trump "trying to control the country"
Watch: JD and Usha Vance’s trip to Greenland…in 80 seconds
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz - a figure at the heart of the Signal group chat scandal - is now speaking.
He says President Trump is "absolutely serious" about the Arctic and "the security" of the area.
"This is about shipping lanes, energy, fisheries," he says.
JD Vance begins his address by thanking the troops gathered for giving him "a warm reception in a very, very cold place".
He adds that he brings a message from President Trump, who he says is "thankful for your service" and "proud of you".
He adds that the work they are doing is important for national security.
As he begins speaking, the troops momentarily began chanting "USA".
Vice-President JD Vance is about to speak from the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland.
Hit watch live at the top of this page to follow along - we'll bring you all the key lines here.
Image source, ReutersWe're pivoting for a moment back to Washington, where President Donald Trump - who repeatedly said he wants the US to take over Greenland - has just been speaking with reporters in the White House. He was asked about JD Vance's trip to the Arctic territory.
Trump says that Greenland is "very important for the peace of the world".
And he then follows that up by saying:
"I think the European Union understands it, and if they don't - we're going to have to explain it."
Quote MessageWe have to have Greenland. It's not a question of 'do you think we can do without it.' We can't."
Donald Trump, US president
Image source, Getty ImagesUS Vice-President JD Vance is now getting down to business and having a briefing with American troops stationed at the Pituffik Space Base on Greenland's north-west coast.
Cameras aren't allowed in the meeting - we know this because our feed showed Vance saying "now reporters get out, so we can talk about this stuff". But we did see everyone involved arriving and taking their seats ahead of the meeting.
Sat next to his wife and looking at an iPhone, Vance tells the assembled troops that he "is going to embarrass" Colonel Myers, who is stationed at the space base and sat next to the VP during the briefing.
Myers, Vance says, completed the "polar bear plunge" - getting a certificate saying the "temperature never reached above 41(f 5c)".
"And let it be known this task of questionable sanity was accomplished despite near freezing temperatures, the threat of collapsing icebergs and lusty seals," Vance then says he is looking forward to hearing about the lusty seals.
Myers says that for the challenge, which is held every July, they have to "go into the ocean, go in a few feet, swim a couple of feet and then come out," she says, adding that some people do it two or three times.
"And then you get a certificate for your stupidity," she says, which is greeted by laughter.
And with that, the briefing begins.
Image source, GettyVice-President JD Vance and other officials have just started their visit to Pituffik Space Base, home to US Space Force and Air Force personnel.
Its unique 'top of the world' location, according to the US Space Force website, makes it an advantageous position for military defence.
Missiles launched from Russia and China towards the US would most likely be detectable there first, experts say.
"It is quite literally the outermost eye of American defence," Peter Ernstved Rasmussen, a Danish defense analyst, told the New York Times. "Pituffik is where the US can detect a launch, calculate the trajectory and activate its missile defence systems. It’s irreplaceable.”
The icy military base - "locked in by ice nine months out of the year" - conducts missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance missions, according to USSF.
Watch: JD Vance thanks troops on US military base in Greenland
As Vance spoke, he stood before dozens of military personnel who were gathered around long tables with plates of food in front of them.
After concluding his remarks, Vance quipped: "I thought I was serving food, but it looks like everyone's already got their food."
"What's the plan from here guys," he asks.
Vance and his wife Usha are then directed towards their seats where they sit wedged between service members.
A - hopefully warm - plate of food awaits.
Upon entering the base, Vance was overheard saying "it's cold as (expletive) in here".
Image source, Getty ImagesWe're now getting some more details from reporters travelling with the second couple to Greenland.
Air Force Two, the US government plane carrying the vice-president and second lady, touched down at the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland at 12:52pm local time (11:52 ET, 15:51 GMT)
It's -18C (-1F) and there are clear, sunny skies in this remote, north-western corner of Greenland that is 750 miles (1207km) north of the Arctic Circle.
The flight was uneventful and nobody from the US delegation - including US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz - spoke to the reporters on the plane.
Broadcaster Fox News played on the televisions during the flight which flew over massive sheets of cracked ice and snow-covered mountains as the plane passed through Canada and then over to Greenland.
The Vances were greeted by Colonel Susan Myers and Chief Master Sargent Holly Vaught on the tarmac and are now having lunch with members of the military which will be followed by briefings.
Image source, Getty ImagesAfter an early start departing on Air Force Two from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, the Vances have arrived in Greenland where they came off the plane and went straight for lunch with US troops stationed at Pituffik Space Base.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesVance concludes his remarks by thanking troops and again addresses the more contentious topic - American interests in Greenland.
"The president is really interested in Arctic security. As you all know, that's a big issue, and it's only gonna get bigger over the coming decades," Vance says.
"So thanks for doing what you do," he continues, acknowledging the "sacrifice" made by those gathered, who spend at least a year away from their families.
Vance continues by saying he will be discussing with military officials "what exactly the base does and all the important ways it contributes to national security".
He says they will also get a briefing about what the military personnel "do everyday".
Vance then adds subtly: "As you've heard, we have some interest in Greenland from the Trump administration, so we're gonna talk a little bit about that with our friends in the media."
JD Vance is now speaking before US troops at a military base in Greenland.
He is accompanied by his wife Usha.
"Thank you all for everything you do and thanks for having us," Vance says.
"I've never been to Greenland. Apparently I'm the first vice-president to ever visit Greenland," he continues.
"That's a pretty cool thing."
Watch: US Vice-President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance arrive in Greenland
As we mentioned in the post below, JD Vance has just arrived to Greenland and entered a US armoured vehicle briefly after exiting Air Force Two.
He descended the steps wearing a large camo-green jacket and waved to cameras before greeting those welcoming his arrival.
He did not speak or address cameras, as many had hoped.
Image source, Getty ImagesAir Force Two, the US government plane carrying US Vice-President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance has landed at the Pituffik Space Base in north-west Greenland.
The Vances will now be shown around the US facility.
Stay with us, we'll bring you all the key lines from their visit as well as pictures of their arrival shortly.
On the flight tracking website FlightRadar, all eyeballs are on Air Force Two, the plane carrying Vice-President JD Vance and other officials thousands of miles from the US to Greenland.
The plane is headed to a US military base strategically located 'top of the world'.
Air Force Two was the northernmost plane in the world moments ago, according to FlightRadar, but it was short lived - eclipsed by flight from Dubai to San Francisco.
The original plan for this visit was for Second Lady Usha Vance to come go to Greenland "for a bit of fun," Maryam Moshi reports from Nuuk.
This was originally framed as a cultural tour, but the scale of the security preparations made it clear that this was something bigger. Greenlanders made clear they would protest Mrs Vance's presence.
Click below to watch how the Vances plans changed so dramatically, or you can read about the rescheduled itinerary from Laura Gozzi and Ali Abbas Ahmadi.
Watch: How the Vance Greenland visit plan changed after protests
Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC
Image source, Getty ImagesUsha Vance's original Greenland itinerary was supposed to include a trip to one of the world's most renowned dog sled races: the Avannaata Qimussersua, or The Great Race of the North.
It's basically Greenland's Super Bowl.
Thirty-seven dog sled drivers will race hundreds of dogs across icy treacherous arctic terrain, as fans crowd nearby, watching with binoculars and scopes.
If tradition holds, the winner takes home the glory and honour of victory and also free beer.
However, the news of the arrival of the US vice-president's wife amid growing US-Greenland tension was seen as more of a threat to the island's deeply cherished sporting event.
"We did not invite them," the race's organisers said in a statement, external on Sunday, referring to the Vances.
Days later, Usha Vance said she had received multiple invitations to the race.
Image source, ReutersThe King of Denmark, Frederik X, acknowledged the changing geopolitical climate on Friday morning ahead of the imminent and somewhat unwelcome arrival of US President Donald Trump's Vice-President JD Vance and other officials.
"As I have said before, we live in a changed reality," he told a press pool. "But there should be no doubt that my love for Greenland and my connection to the Greenlandic people is intact."
The unusual comments on the eve of one of Greenland's biggest cultural celebrations - the annual dog sled race the Avannaata Qimussersua - mark the growing unease in Greenland over Trump's repeated remarks to own the island.
Adrienne Murray
Reporting from Copenhagen
Image source, ReutersGreenland's new Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has just spoken to a group of reporters following the formation of a new coalition between four of the country's political parties.
"The whole situation of coming to visit when there is no government in place, we insist, is not showing respect for an ally," the Danish broadcaster DR reports.
"It's a shame, but now we have a government that needs to put on its work clothes,” he continues.
DR also reports that Nielsen said the first thing the new government needs to fix is a "foreign policy situation which requires action, and that is the first thing we want to fix".
He says that Denmark is Greenland's closest ally, but follows up saying "that's where the problem lies".
"We need to engage in dialogue with all of them - without dialogue we won't solve anything.”
Andrew Harding
Reporting from Nuuk
Crowds gathered earlier as the new coalition government was announced
Watching Greenland politicians celebrate the formation of a new coalition government for the island, a local pensioner, who asked not to give his name, spoke of his alarm about America’s ambition to annex Greenland.
“I’ve a great fear inside me. I think this must be like what Ukraine felt before Russia invaded. I have great grandchildren. I feel such intensity in myself,” he tells me.
The man then translates the words of a patriotic song that broke out among members of the public watching the coalition celebrations in Nuuk’s cultural centre.
“We will prevail, because we can,” he says.