Political leaders in Greenland, the self-governing Danish territory coveted by President Donald Trump, have agreed to form a new coalition government “to face the heavy pressure” from the US, the new prime minister said on Friday.

The broad four-party government, which will be headed by Democrats leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has been formed hours before US Vice-President JD Vance was due to visit the country. 

Mr Neilson urged parties to show unity amid Mr Trump’s campaign to annex the country.

“At a time when we as a people are under pressure, we must stand together,” he said at a press conference on Friday morning, local time.

The pro-business Democrats, who favour gradual independence from Denmark, emerged as the biggest party, tripling their representation to 10 seats in a March 11 general election.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen congratulated Greenland on its new government in a post on Instagram: “I look forward to close cooperation in an unnecessarily conflict-ridden time.”

Mr Nielsen criticised the timing of the planned US visit, which was scaled back after a fierce backlash.

“We must not be forced into a power game that we ourselves have not chosen to be a part of,” Mr Nielsen said.

Since taking office in January, Mr Trump has vowed to make Greenland part of the United States, saying it is vital to US security interests, but the idea has been deeply unpopular with Greenlanders.

Greenland’s strategic location and largely untapped mineral resources are attractive to the US.

It lies along the shortest air route from Europe to North America, vital for the US ballistic missile warning system, and the US already has a base there.

‘We are not for sale’ 

The US delegation — which is led by Mr Vance and will also include his wife Usha, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright — was scheduled to land at 3:30pm local time at the US base, at Pituffik in the north of the island.

An initial plan to visit the capital Nuuk and a popular dog sled race was removed from the itinerary. 

Ms Frederiksen was among those who reacted angrily to the plan, saying it put “unacceptable pressure” on Greenland. 

Reports suggest that by revising the trip, the Trump administration is seeking to refocus the discussion on the topics it is interested in: the US presence on Greenland, military capabilities available, and the wider security of the Arctic, said Catherine Sendak, head of the Transatlantic Defense and Security programme at the Center for European Policy Analysis, a Washington-based think tank.

“A change of course was needed,” Mr Sendak told Reuters.

However, some residents in Nuuk remained angry at the Trump administration ahead of Vance’s visit.

“I am a human. Humans are not for sale. We are not for sale,” Tungutaq Larsen, a film-maker, told Reuters.

Polls have shown that nearly all Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the United States. Anti-American protesters, some wearing “Make America Go Away” caps and holding “Yankees Go Home” banners, have staged some of the largest demonstrations ever seen in Greenland.

On Thursday, residents in Nuuk planted Greenlandic flags in the snow and a cardboard sign in English that said “Our Land. Our Future”.