President Trump signed a deal with the leaders of Greenland and Denmark that allows the United States to form a stronger military presence in the region.
“President Donald J. Trump officially signs the landmark Greenland security deal alongside Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark and Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen of Greenland,” the White House posted on X, sharing a video of the signing. “This HISTORIC deal is critical for American national security and defense in the Arctic Region.”
President Trump addressed the deal in his speech before the United Nations General Assembly. “No U.S. adversary will ever be permitted to establish a military presence in Greenland anymore, or make sensitive investments there without our express written approval,” he said. “We will immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate locations.”
The text of the agreement, also shared by the White House, explains that the “security situation in the Arctic is changing and that more efforts are needed to ensure security there in the future.” The agreement goes on to state that the United States is permitted to “modernize and expand its activities in Pituffik Space Base,” as well as “establish an additional Defense Area at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig in accordance with modalities and technical details to be mutually agreed by the Parties.”
The United States may also “enjoy, for its public vessels and aircraft and its armed forces and vehicles, the right of free access to and movement between the Defense Areas through Greenland, including the Territorial Waters, by land, air and sea,” it says. It may also “fly over and land in any territory in Greenland, including the Territorial Waters, and United States public vessels may have undersea access to and movement within the Territorial Waters, without restriction except as mutually agreed upon by the Parties.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen previously expressed optimism on the arrangement. “A period of uncertainty will hopefully be replaced by a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic — and thus also our shared security within NATO and Europe — while respecting the Kingdom’s red lines,” he wrote on Instagram.
Similarly, Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, acknowledged that the agreement “recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our kingdom and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination.”
