The US President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Fredrik Nielsen signed an agreement on the security of the Arctic island on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 22.
Reuters writes about this.
This agreement should end months of tension surrounding the island, which Trump had previously threatened to take control of.
According to the document, the US will be able to open two new military bases in Greenland — in Narsarsuaq in the south of the island and Meestersvig on the east coast. Washington will also be able to expand the existing Pituffik base in the northwest.
American aircraft and ships will have the right to fly, land and navigate underwater throughout Greenland and its territorial waters. The agreement does not specify the number of American troops or the timing of the deployment of new bases.
The document does not provide for the transfer of Greenland to the United States. The island remains under Danish sovereignty.
Trump said the agreement gives the US "permanent control" over security matters on the island. At the same time, the document explicitly recognizes Greenlandʼs right to self-determination and stipulates that the US must respect local society and way of life.
The agreement also limits the ability of non-NATO, non-Alliance partners, or non-EU states to control Greenlandʼs critical infrastructure and resource sectors, and it does not include specific provisions for US investment in the islandʼs mining sector.
Separately, Denmark is committed to strengthening its own security in the Arctic. If Greenland becomes independent in the future, Denmark and Greenland must ensure its membership in NATO or apply to join the Alliance.
The agreement has no set term and can only be amended by mutual consent. It supplements the 1951 US-Denmark Treaty on the Defense of Greenland. The document now needs to be approved by the parliaments of Denmark and Greenland.
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.
In November 2025, the Danish Foreign Ministry reported that it had launched a “night watch” to monitor Donald Trump’s statements and actions while Copenhagen slept.
A year later, on September 19, the US President Donald Trump reported that the US had reached an agreement with Denmark that gives the country “permanent security control” over Greenland. Trump said the agreement would come at no cost to Washington. He added that the US would immediately begin expanding its military presence in Greenland.
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