The United States, Denmark and Greenland have reached an agreement that Washington says gives it lasting control over the security of the Arctic island.
US President Donald Trump announced the deal on September 18 on his Truth Social platform. He said it gave the US “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland”.
According to Trump, no US adversary could ever operate a base or make sensitive investments on the island without Washington’s written approval. He said the arrangement had no end date, would cost the US nothing and would allow work to begin immediately on a large military presence.
A US official told CNN the deal included permanent access, basing and overflight rights.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told US lawmakers in June that Greenland was part of Denmark “for now”, said the pact “permanently and completely addresses our national security concerns in Greenland”. He added that the island would be permanently included in North America’s strategic defence area.
The text of the agreement has not been published. Denmark’s reading of it differs markedly in tone from Washington’s.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said the deal recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination. She described it as a matter of shared security that would also benefit NATO and Europe.
Asked by Danish broadcasters DR and TV2 whether Trump was overstating what Washington had secured, Frederiksen declined to discuss the content. She said neither she nor Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen would sign a deal that was not good for Greenland and the kingdom.
Nielsen has said the agreement strengthens the island’s security and recognises Greenland’s interests. Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said it would replace a long period of uncertainty with a binding commitment.
Frederiksen and Nielsen flew to New York on September 20 to sign the agreement on the margins of the UN General Assembly. It would then require approval from the Danish and Greenlandic parliaments, according to a joint statement from Copenhagen and Nuuk.
NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said the deal would “help advance security, stability, and cooperation in this vital region”.
The agreement follows more than a year of tension in which Trump demanded US control of the territory, at one point refusing to rule out force. He revived that call at the NATO summit in Ankara in July.
Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, an EU member state. On September 7, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a €200 million European Union partnership package for the island during a visit to Nuuk.
