The United States, Denmark and Greenland are expected to sign an agreement aimed at strengthening security in the Arctic and North Atlantic, with the deal due to be signed at the United Nations General Assembly next week.
The agreement would strengthen US security and military involvement in Greenland while recognising the territory’s position within the Kingdom of Denmark. It also seeks to prevent US adversaries from establishing military bases, maintaining a military presence or making sensitive investments in Greenland without US approval.
US President Donald Trump said the United States had reached an agreement with Denmark and Greenland that would give Washington “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland”.
President Trump said the agreement would give the US the ability to “FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland” to secure and defend Greenland and the United States.
He said there would be “NO COST to the United States” and that, from now on, no US adversary would be able to establish a base, maintain a military presence or make sensitive investments in Greenland without the United States’ “express written approval”.
President Trump also said the US would “immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence” in an appropriate part of Greenland, adding that the US would work with the people of Greenland on its development and construction.
Describing the agreement as an “Infinite Life” agreement, President Trump said: “there is no end”.
He said the agreement was a “dream come true” for the United States and described Greenland as a “large, and highly strategic, parcel of land”, adding that the US would be “very protective of it”.
Denmark and Greenland emphasise sovereignty
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen welcomed the agreement, saying it would strengthen common security in the Arctic and North Atlantic.
“I am glad that we are about to make a great agreement for Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, and the United States,” Frederiksen said.
She said the agreement would strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic and would therefore also benefit NATO and Europe.
Frederiksen also stressed that the agreement recognised “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination”.
Greenland’s Prime Minister, Chairman of Naalakkersuisut Jens-Frederik Nielsen also welcomed the agreement.
“It is encouraging that we are about to make an agreement that will ensure and strengthen the security of Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, the United States, and the Western Alliance,” Nielsen said.
He said the agreement recognised Greenland’s interests and its place in international cooperation, adding that it was “to the benefit of us all”.
Agreement still requires parliamentary approval
Despite President Trump’s announcement, the agreement has not yet entered into force.
The three governments are expected to sign the agreement during next week’s UN General Assembly. Following signature, it will enter into force subject to the necessary national parliamentary procedures.
The full terms of the agreement have not yet been made public.
The announcement follows months of tensions over Greenland, after President Trump repeatedly highlighted the strategic importance of the Arctic territory to US national security.
Greenland is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark and occupies a strategically important position between North America and Europe.