The US and Denmark have announced a deal on Greenland’s security, resolving a diplomatic dispute sparked by President Donald Trump’s threats to seize the territory by force. Trump said the agreement would grant the US “permanent control over security, and all other needs”. Denmark’s Prime Minister said the deal “strengthens security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic area” but did not address specifics in the agreement that Trump mentioned in a social media post. The deal comes after months of threats by Trump to “take” Greenland over national security concerns, citing its strategic location for defence purposes and its mineral wealth.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said the deal comes with “no cost to the United States” and will grant the US the ability to “to do what is necessary” to “secure and defend the security of Greenland”. He said it includes a rule that no US adversary can maintain a military presence in Greenland or “make sensitive investments in Greenland, without our express written approval”. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed that the agreement will be signed at the United Nations General Assembly next week. She said the agreement “strengthens our common security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic area” while also “at the same time recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination”.
She added that the deal still needs approval from legislators, and “will have to go through the necessary parliamentary procedures to enter into force”. Chairman of the Greenland Government Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a statement announcing the deal that it “is gratifying that we are about to enter into an agreement that ensures and strengthens the security” of Greenland, Denmark and the US. “The agreement recognises Greenland’s interests and our place in international co-operation. It is for the benefit of us all,” he said.
Trump had tried for months to purchase or annex the mineral-rich Danish territory, arguing that it is vulnerable to adversaries, including Russia and China. He even threatened military action in Greenland, prompting an outcry from Danes and other Nato countries. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a “historic deal” and a “huge win for the United States and the American people”. “This deal permanently and completely addresses our national security concerns in Greenland,” he said in a statement.
No text of the agreement has been released. The BBC has reached out to the Danish Embassy and the White House. However, an unnamed US State Department official outlined the deal without providing specifics. Among the agreed provisions is one stating the deal would not expire even if Greenland became an independent country in the future.
The official added that under the deal, the US has unilateral power to build additional military structures with no approval needed from Greenland or Denmark. It includes “permanent access, basing and overflights rights,” the official said. It also bans non-Nato countries from building bases in Greenland, and “bans adversaries from making investments in Greenland that could threaten the United States”. The official added that under the current status quo, adversaries have been allowed to invest in Greenland’s “sensitive sectors without investment screening”.
The official specifically referenced Russia and China, saying it blocks them from deploying troops or making investments in “sensitive sectors”. Without the official text being released, it is unclear how exactly the deal differs from a 1951 agreement with Denmark, under which the US can send as many troops as it wants to Greenland. The US already has more than 100 military personnel permanently stationed at its Pituffik base in the north-western tip of the territory. Trump says Greenland is essential for his plan to build a Golden Dome defence system, designed to protect the US against missile attacks from Russia and China, and that European allies could co-operate in this endeavor.
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