US and Denmark reach new agreement on defense and investment in Greenland
President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. has reached an agreement for “permanent control over security” for Greenland that would enable a broad expansion of the American military presence on the territory of Denmark that he has long coveted.
The White House did not release a draft of the agreement, which is expected to be signed by all three parties at the U.N. General Assembly next week. It would apparently replace a 1951 treaty that granted the U.S. authority to station troops in Greenland.
The agreement would bar non-NATO nations from establishing a military base or having a troop presence on the island — and would prohibit investments by non-allies in the critical minerals and mining sectors, according to the State Department.
Those provisions appear designed to block China or Russia from doing business or establishing a military footprint in Greenland , though one NATO official, granted anonymity to discuss a diplomatic mater, said that there is no indication either country has any such plans.
Trump said on social media that the U.S. will have “the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the security of Greenland, and the United States of America.”
There is no indication that the new agreement grants the U.S. any sovereignty over any part of Greenland, and does not transfer property or territory to the U.S.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen confirmed the agreement in a joint statement.
Frederiksen said the agreement will strengthen the security of the Arctic and the North Atlantic, and recognizes “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.”
Nielsen added that the deal reflects “Greenland’s interests and its place in the international cooperation. It is to the benefit of us all.”
A 1951 agreement between the U.S. and Denmark already gave Washington wide latitude to expand military bases and deploy troops to the island, something that NATO diplomats have pointed out with some frustration since the start of the Trump administration. It is not clear how this new agreement changes that agreement which already gave Washington much of what Trump has been demanding.
While the U.S. military footprint in Greenland is small, it has fluctuated in size depending on the threat picture throughout the Cold War and after. American warships can dock at a deepwater port there and radar systems feed data back to the Pentagon.
Last year, the Pentagon redrew its command maps to pull Greenland out of the European Command area of responsibility — given its ties to Denmark — and placed it under the Northern Command, which handles security for North America. Placing Greenland under Northern Command in some respects carves Greenland away from Denmark when it comes to how the island is prioritized in policy discussions at the Pentagon and the White House.
The United States, Greenland and Denmark — which controls Greenland’s foreign affairs — have been engaged in negotiations for months about the Trump administration’s demands for more access to Greenland. Trump has long expressed a desire to militarily take over the North Atlantic island, alarming Greenlanders and sparking backlash from European leaders as well as GOP lawmakers.
