Denmark has welcomed the Trump administration’s decision to scale back an unsolicited visit to Greenland as a sign the US is “de-escalating” after the planned trip sparked a diplomatic row with the Arctic island and Denmark.

The trip was originally to have involved a delegation led by the US second lady, Usha Vance, and including the White House national security adviser, Mike Waltz, visiting the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk, and a dog sled race.

But after strong public statements opposing the visit from Greenland’s prime minister, Múte B Egede, and his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen, it was announced that the trip would be more contained in scale and feature only a visit to the island’s US military base, Pituffik.

The vice-president, JD Vance, said on Tuesday he would be joining his wife, a step that the Danish foreign minister appeared to allude to when he said the US was giving the impression of escalating the row “when they’re actually de-escalating”.

The White House has not yet confirmed whether or not Waltz, who has since become embroiled in an embarrassing security leak, will still be travelling. His name was omitted from a list of those attending.

“I actually think it is very positive that the Americans are cancelling their visit to the Greenlandic community. Then they will instead make a visit to their own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against that,” Rasmussen told the Danish broadcaster DR.

Rasmussen was speaking on Wednesday, as US planes were preparing to take off from Nuuk airport after reportedly being loaded with bulletproof cars that had been delivered in preparation for the visit.

“The short of it is that the cars that were delivered a few days ago are now being brought back home, and there will be no visit from the US vice-president’s wife and their security adviser to the Greenlandic community. It is being packed up, and that is positive,” Rasmussen said.

He added: “It’s kind of a masterful spin in many ways, to make it look like they’re escalating when they’re actually de-escalating.”

The change of plans was claimed as a diplomatic victory by Copenhagen and Nuuk, which is now being led by a caretaker government while coalition talks continue after a general election earlier this month.

Greenland, a former Danish colony, is now a semi-autonomous territory within the kingdom of Denmark, but its foreign and security policies are run by Copenhagen.

On Tuesday, Frederiksen accused the US of putting “unacceptable pressure” on Greenland and Denmark – vowing: “It is pressure that we will resist.”

Donald Trump, who has repeatedly said he wants to acquire the vast Arctic island for the US, had said that the American delegation was invited by Greenlandic “officials”. The Nuuk government responded by saying it had not issued any invitations for visits – “either official or private”. Egede had already accused Washington of “foreign interference.”

Pele Broberg, the leader of Naleraq, the most Trump and US-friendly Greenlandic party, which on Monday became the first party to leave coalition talks, accused the Danish media of prompting fears of “annexation”.

“We have more or less missed the chance to have a normal relationship with the US in the future, but I of course hope I am wrong,” he told Sermitsiaq.

Announcing that he would be joining his wife on the trip to Greenland, vice-president Vance said in a video on X: “Speaking for president Trump, we want to reinvigorate the security of the people of Greenland because we think it’s important to protecting the security of the entire world.”

Drew Horn, who worked in various roles in the first Trump administration and is now an investor in Greenlandic minerals, said the US government’s intentions for the trip had been “manipulated and misrepresented”.

“The intent is to demonstrate friendliness and commitment to supporting security for Greenland. The intentions have been manipulated and misrepresented with a bunch of noise coming out of Denmark,” he said. “So the vice-president now is looking basically to do a troop visit and keep it very traditional.”

Horn, who is chief executive of Washington DC-based mineral investment company GreenMet, added: “It is not a threat, it is not a show of force, it is not meant to influence or interfere with the new government.”

Usha Vance, he said, had been invited to Greenland by the organisers of the dog sled race “as a show of friendship to learn more about the Greenlandic culture”.