WASHINGTON: The United States, Denmark and Greenland have agreed to allow Washington to develop a significant military presence on the island while barring US adversaries from establishing bases there, with Copenhagen hailing the ‘binding’ deal on Saturday.
In a Truth Social post, the US president wrote that no US enemies would be able to make sensitive investments on the island without the approval of the United States and that the agreement had no expiry date.
‘At my direction, we worked with representatives of Denmark and Greenland to guarantee that the United States will FOREVER 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,’ Trump wrote.
The US already has nearly total overflight and basing rights in Greenland due to a 1951 treaty.
Trump’s announcement suggests he was nonetheless pleased with the outcome of the negotiations and that he might not revive his territorial claims, at least in the near future. He said, without elaborating, that the US would soon be rolling out a large military presence on the island, which already hosts one Space Force base in its remote northwest.
‘This is a dream come true for the United States of America,’ Trump wrote.
Extent of agreement remains unclear Greenland’s prime minister, JensFrederik Nielsen, said in a statement that the agreement recognised Greenland’s interests and the Arctic island’s place in international cooperation. ‘This benefits us all,’ he said.
Much was unclear as of Friday night, including whether any new US bases would be constructed as a result of the agreement. Trump’s Truth Social posts about negotiations or agreements often lack context or specifics.
Separately, in a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the deal ‘permanently and completely’ addressed Washington’s national security concerns with respect to the island.
‘Greenland will forever be part of the strategic defence area of North America and exclude any adversary from it and the surrounding area,’ he wrote.
A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss specific terms, said the deal prohibits nonNato countries from building a base in Greenland and will allow only the USand its allies to make unspecified ‘sensitive investments’. The official said the agreement grants the US permanent access, basing and overflight rights, and would continue to apply even if Greenland becomes independent.
Denmark hails deal Meanwhile, Denmark hailed a ‘binding’ deal announced by US President Donald Trump to give Washington ‘permanent control’ over Greenland’s security and bar Russian and Chinese bases from the Arctic territory.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s office said that the agreement would strengthen North Atlantic and Arctic security.
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington needed to control Greenland for strategic reasons, alarming Nato ally Denmark and sparking fierce pushback from the alliance.
Denmark and Greenland an autonomous Danish territory both hailed the deal and said they would sign it on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Saturday that the potential signing meant ‘next week could be a good week’.
‘A long period of uncertainty will hopefully be replaced by a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and North Atlantic,’ the foreign minister said in a social media post.
The deal respected Denmark’s ‘red lines’ and was ‘important’ in light of a changed security situation, he said.
‘Permanent control’ While the terms are still unclear, Denmark maintains that its sovereignty remains intact.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the agreement ‘recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination’.
On the other hand, President Trump gave no details about how the deal would work.
But several media outlets have reported that the United States wants to open three new military bases in southern Greenland, in addition to the Pituffik base it already has in the north of the territory.
At the height of the crisis, Trump would not rule out using force to seize the territory of 57,000 inhabitants, sowing anxiety within the EU and Nato.-Agencies