Published : 19 Sep 2026, 07:27 PM
Updated : 19 Sep 2026, 07:27 PM
Denmark and Greenland have said on Saturday that any agreement with the United States would respect Greenland's sovereignty, after US President Donald Trump said a deal would give Washington permanent control over the Arctic island's security.
The United States, Denmark and Greenland said late on Friday they had reached an agreement allowing Washington to develop a significant military presence on Greenland while preventing US adversaries from establishing their own bases there.
Key details of the agreement have not been made public, including the scale of any US military presence and whether Washington would receive formal powers over foreign policy or Greenland's natural resources.
The agreement is expected to be signed during the United Nations General Assembly next week, with Denmark and Greenland hoping it will end months of uncertainty caused by Trump's threats to take control of the territory.
"Next week could be a good week - for Greenland, Denmark, and the United States," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a statement on Facebook.
"A time of uncertainty will hopefully give way to a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic, and thereby our shared security within NATO and Europe - while respecting the (Danish) Kingdom's red lines," he said.
Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly insisted that Washington respect the sovereignty of the Danish kingdom and accept that Greenland is not for sale.
Trump's Vision for Greenland Deal
Trump said on Truth Social on Friday that the agreement would give the United States "permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland".
He said Washington would have the ability to take whatever action was necessary to secure and defend Greenland and the United States, and that no adversary would be allowed to establish a base or military presence on the island or make sensitive investments there without US approval.
Trump made the announcement after Reuters reported exclusively that Washington and Copenhagen were closing in on a deal.
"This is probably not the end of President Trump's ambitions for Greenland and certainly not the end of US strategic interest in the territory and its resources," said Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen, a political science professor at the University of Copenhagen.
If Copenhagen ceded any formal power to Washington, it could raise questions in Greenland about whether its relationship with Denmark was being replaced by one with the United States, he said.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said he was pleased with the proposed agreement.
"The agreement recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our Kingdom and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination," he said in a Facebook post.
Tensions within NATO Alliance
Trump's threats, which peaked in January, triggered a diplomatic crisis that strained relations within NATO and pushed Denmark and Greenland into negotiations aimed at easing tensions.
A NATO spokesperson on Saturday welcomed the agreement, saying it would help advance security, stability and cooperation in the Arctic region.
The deal has drawn mixed reactions in Copenhagen.
"I think that the US is probably going to get what they could have had the whole time, if they just asked nicely," said Steffen Nielsen, a 49-year-old sales worker.
Kaj Jorgensen, an 80-year-old pensioner, said he opposed a US presence anywhere in the Danish kingdom.
"I don't like it," he said. "I don't wish the United States to be present anywhere in the Danish Kingdom. I really don't trust Donald Trump."
