Denmark and Greenland said Saturday that an expected security agreement with the United States would not compromise Greenland’s sovereignty, despite President Donald Trump’s assertion that Washington would gain permanent control over security on the Arctic island.
The three governments said Friday that an agreement had been reached allowing the United States to develop a significant military presence in Greenland while preventing US adversaries from establishing bases there.
The agreement is expected to be signed during the UN General Assembly next week, though key details remain undisclosed.
The scale of the planned US military presence and whether Washington would receive any formal authority over Greenland’s foreign policy, resources or sensitive investments have not been made public.
Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly maintained that the sovereignty of the Danish Kingdom must be respected and that Greenland is not for sale.
Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the proposed agreement recognizes the Kingdom’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as Greenlanders’ right to self-determination.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said he hoped months of uncertainty would give way to a binding agreement strengthening security in the Arctic and North Atlantic while respecting the Kingdom’s red lines.
Some residents in Nuuk, however, expressed scepticism about closer ties with Washington.
Trump said the agreement would give the United States “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland,” while preventing adversaries from establishing military bases or making sensitive investments without Washington’s approval.
His characterization left uncertainty over how the agreement would reconcile expanded US security authority with Denmark and Greenland’s insistence that sovereignty would remain unchanged.
Trump’s earlier threats to take control of Greenland, which peaked in January, triggered a diplomatic crisis and strained relations within NATO, prompting negotiations aimed at easing tensions.
A NATO spokesperson welcomed the agreement, saying it would advance security, stability and cooperation in the region.
Denmark and Greenland hope the expected signing next week will clarify the arrangement and end months of uncertainty surrounding Washington’s ambitions for the territory.