WASHINGTON, September 19 — President Donald Trump said Friday he has reached a deal with Denmark to bolster the US military presence in Greenland, after months in which he threatened to take the island by force from the NATO ally.
In a social media post announcing the agreement, Trump said the deal “gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns.” He added that with the agreement his administration would “immediately” begin the process of developing a larger military presence on the mineral-rich Danish territory. The Danish embassy in Washington had no immediate comment.
Months of pressure, then a pact
The agreement settles months of geopolitical tension during which Trump had repeatedly pressured Denmark to sell the island and refused to rule out using military force to acquire it. According to current reporting, the arrangement is trilateral — involving the United States, Denmark and Greenland — and would significantly expand the US military presence and permanent security control over the Arctic territory.
Key elements include permanent security control, as described by Trump; permanent access, basing rights and overflight privileges for the US military; and an explicit bar on adversarial, non-NATO nations — specifically China and Russia — from establishing bases, stationing troops or making sensitive infrastructure investments in Greenland. Unlike Trump’s initial demands for an outright purchase, the territory remains under Danish sovereignty.
Sovereignty recognised, parliaments next
The trilateral agreement is scheduled to be officially signed by the three governments next week at the United Nations General Assembly. However, the pact is not yet fully finalized. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen emphasized in a joint statement that the deal explicitly “recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the Kingdom and upholds the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.
To officially take effect, the deal must still be debated and passed by the Danish and Greenlandic Parliaments. Greenland is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark and sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.
It hosts the US military’s northernmost installation, Thule Air Base — renamed Pituffik Space Base in 2023 — which has long served as a key node in US missile warning and space surveillance. The island is also rich in minerals and rare earth elements, and its location makes it strategically significant for Arctic security and shipping routes as polar ice recedes. The announcement follows a period in which Trump’s public suggestions about acquiring Greenland — including not ruling out military force — strained relations with Denmark, a founding NATO member.
The reported terms appear designed to address US security concerns without transferring sovereignty, a formula that Danish and Greenlandic leaders have said respects their constitutional position. The next formal step is the signing at the UN General Assembly, after which parliamentary consideration in Copenhagen and Nuuk would determine whether the arrangement takes legal effect.
