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”.
Denmark’s Prime Minister said the deal “strengthens security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic area” but did not address specifics in the agreement that Trump mentioned in a social media post.
The deal 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.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said the deal comes with “no cost to the United States” and will grant the US the ability to “to do what is necessary” to “secure and defend the security of Greenland”.
He said it includes a rule that no US adversary can maintain a military presence in Greenland or “make sensitive investments in Greenland, without our express written approval”.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed that the agreement will be signed at the United Nations General Assembly next week.
She said the agreement “strengthens our common security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic area” while also “at the same time recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination”.
She added that the deal still needs approval from legislators, and “will have to go through the necessary parliamentary procedures to enter into force”.
Chairman of the Greenland Government Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a statement announcing the deal that it “is gratifying that we are about to enter into an agreement that ensures and strengthens the security” of Greenland, Denmark and the US.
“The agreement recognises Greenland’s interests and our place in international co-operation. It is for the benefit of us all,” he said.
Trump had tried for months to purchase or annex the mineral-rich Danish territory. He has even threatened military action, leading to an outcry from Danes and other Nato countries.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a “historic deal” and a “huge win for the United States and the American people”.
“This deal permanently and completely addresses our national security concerns in Greenland,” he told Fox News.
No text of the agreement has been released. The BBC has reached out the Danish Embassy and the White House.
