The administration of US President Donald Trump is in talks with Denmark about deploying new military facilities in Greenland. They want to use them to monitor the activities of Russia and China.
This is reported by the BBC, citing sources.
According to the sources, the talks are about the creation of three new military bases in southern Greenland. The White House says that the negotiations are moving "in the right direction" and the administration is optimistic.
Sources say the US is proposing an arrangement whereby the new facilities could be given separate legal status as part of an agreement with Denmark and Greenland, and would be based on existing infrastructure, including airfields and ports.
The main goal of the project is to increase surveillance of sea routes in the area between Greenland, Iceland, and the United Kingdom, which the United States estimates may be used by Russia and China.
The US already has one permanent military base in Greenland, the Pituffik Space Base, which is home to approximately 150 military personnel. However, there are no final agreements between the parties regarding new bases.
Greenland and the USA
In December 2024, Donald Trump declared that “possession and control of the largest island in the world — Greenland — is an absolute necessity” for US national security. He said he was interested in buying the island during his first term as president. And later he repeated again and again that he wanted to take possession of the island.
In response, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called on the US president to “stop the threats”. Denmark decided to significantly increase defense spending on the island and also changed the royal coat of arms to more prominently feature the symbols of Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Polls show that almost 85% of Greenlanders are against its secession from the Kingdom of Denmark and joining the United States. In November, the Danish Foreign Ministry said it had launched a “night watch” to monitor Donald Trump’s statements and actions while Copenhagen slept.
Reuters reported on January 8 that the Trump administration was discussing the possibility of paying Greenlanders between $10 000 and $100 000 to join the United States. On January 13, Republican Congressman Randy Fine introduced a bill in the US House of Representatives that would annex Greenland and make it the 51st state of the US.
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