Pompeo postpones Greenland trip; likely to return early to Washington

Washington D.C. [USA], May 9 (ANI): US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo has abruptly postponed his visit to Greenland as he needs to return to Washington early, the US Department of State said on Thursday.
"Secretary Pompeo must postpone his visit to Greenland due to a need for the secretary to be in Washington, DC, today," State Department spokeswoman Mortgan Ortagus said in a statement cited by Sputnik.
Pompeo was scheduled to visit Greenland on Thursday and hold talks with Prime Minister Kim Kilsen after visiting London a day before.
Earlier, the State Department had announced that Pompeo would visit Finland, Germany, Great Britain, and Greenland from May 5 to 9.
However, on Tuesday he cancelled his trip to Berlin because of "problems in the field of international security."
Instead, after meeting British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt in London on Wednesday, Pompeo made an unannounced visit to Iraq and held talks with Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi, President Barham Salih and other senior officials in his four-hour visit to the country.
Pompeo's visit comes days after the US had announced that it was sending USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, Air Force bomber task force and B-52 bombers to the Middle East in response to Iran's "troubling and escalatory indications and warnings."
It also comes hours after Iran said it would announce on Wednesday on reducing its commitments to the nuclear deal or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed in 2015. (ANI)