Home · World · Sep 19 archive
US, Denmark, Greenland Reach Security Agreement
Confirmed
In Short: US President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States has reached an agreement with Denmark and Greenland, granting the US permanent control over Greenland's security and other needs.
The agreement, which Trump said would begin immediately, includes plans to build a significant US military footprint in suitable areas across Greenland.
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the agreement recognizes Greenland's sovereignty and territorial integrity, while Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stated it strengthens the territory's security.
According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the deal permanently addresses Washington's national security concerns, ensuring Greenland remains part of North America's strategic defence area and barring adversaries like Russia and China from establishing military bases there.
The leaders of Denmark and Greenland welcomed the deal, which is expected to be signed next week during the United Nations General Assembly session in New York City.
NATO also welcomed the announcement, stating that the agreement will help advance security, stability, and cooperation in the Arctic and North Atlantic regions.
The deal still needs to go through parliamentary procedures in both Denmark and Greenland before it can enter into force.
Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher noted that Trump views the agreement as a key strategic victory, potentially expanding the number of US bases in Greenland and addressing concerns over rare earth minerals.
The agreement's details remain undisclosed, and no text has been released to the public.
What this adds
The US already holds nearly total overflight and basing rights in Greenland under a 1951 treaty, but Trump's announcement suggests he is satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations.
Background
US President Donald Trump announced a deal granting the US permanent control over Greenland's security.
The US and Denmark have reached a security agreement over Greenland, resolving a diplomatic dispute sparked by Trump's annexation threats.
Denmark is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark, also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland in the north Atlantic Ocean.
What's confirmed
- United States President Donald Trump has said Washington has entered into an agreement with Denmark and Greenland that gives the US “permanent control over security and all other needs”.
- Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the agreement “recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the kingdom and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination”.
- In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the deal “permanently and completely” addressed Washington’s national security concerns with respect to the island.
What's still developing
- The US already holds nearly total overflight and basing rights in Greenland under a 1951 treaty, but Trump’s announcement suggests he was nonetheless pleased with the outcome of the negotiations and might not revive his territorial claims, at least in the near future.
- On Saturday, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on social media that “a long period of uncertainty will hopefully be replaced by a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and North Atlantic and thereby also our shared security in NATO and Europe”.
- “It’s thought that Donald Trump will look to expand the number of US bases in Greenland. He sees it as an important step in his Golden Dome missile programme. He wanted to place interceptors and also trackers there,” he said.
- “What is interesting is that all the time Donald Trump has been talking about what he wanted to do with Greenland and take over Greenland, he talked a lot about rare earth minerals,” added Fisher.
- Richard Weitz, a senior fellow at the NATO Defense College, said Trump “settled for less” with the Denmark-Greenland pact.
- “This seems to be a pattern. He wanted to annex Canada and the Panama Canal, and raised the idea of annexing Venezuela and Greenland as well. But in each case, there was local opposition, so he’s backed down and settled for less, and in this case, he got pretty much everything he wanted, except formal annexation,” Weitz told Al Jazeera.
- Trump says US, Denmark, Greenland entered into agreement on US control over security - anews Contact Us WORLD Islamic World Africa Americas Asia Australia Europe Middle East Türkiye POLITICS Turkish Politics U.S.
- 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" in the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
- The announcement 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. No text of the agreement has been released. Trump said the deal came with "no cost to the United States" and would grant it the ability "to do what is necessary" to "secure and defend the security of Greenland", in a post on Truth Social.
- He said it included a rule that no US adversary could maintain a military presence in Greenland or "make sensitive investments in Greenland, without our express written approval".
- "The agreement recognises Greenland's interests and our place in international co-operation. It is for the benefit of us all," he said.