US and Denmark announce Greenland security deal

The United States and Denmark have announced a Greenland security agreement that President Donald Trump says will give Washington “permanent control over security, and all other needs” on the strategically located Arctic island.

The agreement is expected to be signed next week at the United Nations General Assembly, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, according to the BBC. The deal follows months of threats by Trump to “take” Greenland, citing national security concerns, its location for defence purposes and its mineral wealth.

Trump described the arrangement in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying it would come at “no cost to the United States” and give Washington the ability “to do what is necessary” to “secure and defend the security of Greenland”.

“At my direction, we worked with representatives of Denmark and Greenland to guarantee that the US will FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland,” Trump wrote, according to Al Jazeera.

Trump said the agreement 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”. Al Jazeera reported that Trump also said US adversaries would be barred from establishing military bases or personnel in Greenland unless they receive written authorisation from the United States.

He also alleged that planning would begin immediately to build a significant US military footprint in suitable areas across Greenland, saying there were numerous potential locations, Al Jazeera reported.

Frederiksen described the agreement in narrower terms than Trump’s public statement. She said it “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”, according to the BBC.

The BBC reported that Frederiksen did not address the specific details Trump mentioned in his social media post, including his claim that the US would have permanent control over Greenland’s security and other needs.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the arrangement 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,” Rubio told Fox News, according to the BBC.

The announcement highlights the competing ways the agreement is being framed. Trump and Rubio presented it as a sweeping security gain for Washington, while Frederiksen emphasized Arctic and North Atlantic security, Denmark’s sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination.

Al Jazeera reported that neither Denmark nor Greenland had issued an official response at the time of its report. The BBC later reported that Frederiksen confirmed the agreement would be signed at the UN General Assembly next week.