The United States and Denmark have agreed on new security arrangements for Greenland following months of tension over President Donald Trump’s demands for greater American control over the territory.
The agreement is expected to strengthen military and security cooperation in the Arctic and North Atlantic.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the pact also recognises Denmark’s sovereignty and Greenland’s right to determine its own future.
Agreement Still Needs Approval
Frederiksen said the agreement will be signed at the United Nations General Assembly next week.
She added that it must pass through the required parliamentary procedures before it can enter into force.
Greenland Government Chairman Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed the development.
He said the agreement would strengthen the security of Greenland, Denmark and the United States while recognising Greenland’s interests.
What Trump Says the Deal Contains
Trump said the agreement would give Washington permanent control over Greenland’s security and other security-related needs.
He also said the United States would be able to take whatever measures it considers necessary to defend the territory.
Trump claimed the agreement would prevent US adversaries from establishing military facilities or making sensitive investments in Greenland without Washington’s written approval.
He also said the arrangement would not cost the United States anything.
US Gives Further Details
The full agreement has not been released, making it difficult to independently assess all of the provisions described by US officials.
An unnamed State Department official said the agreement would continue even if Greenland eventually became an independent country.
The official also said the United States would have unilateral rights to build additional military facilities in Greenland.
Those rights would reportedly include permanent access, basing and overflight arrangements.
The agreement would also prohibit non-NATO countries from establishing military bases in Greenland and restrict investments in sensitive areas by countries viewed by Washington as potential adversaries.
Russia and China were specifically mentioned.
Deal Follows Trump’s Greenland Campaign
Trump has spent months arguing that Greenland is important to US national security because of its strategic Arctic location and mineral resources.
He previously proposed acquiring the Danish territory and later made threats involving possible US military action.
Those statements caused concern in Denmark and among other NATO members.
The new agreement represents a significant change in the diplomatic dispute, although its full implications cannot yet be assessed because the official text has not been published.
The United States already operates Pituffik Space Base in north-western Greenland, with more than 100 US military personnel permanently stationed there.
The extent to which the new arrangement expands existing American rights also remains unclear.
A 1951 agreement between the United States and Denmark already provides Washington with broad military access to Greenland.
