Denmark, Greenland and US to Sign Arctic Security Deal Under NATO Umbrella

Denmark, Greenland and the United States are expected to sign a security agreement on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly in New York, a deal Copenhagen says will place Arctic security under NATO's broader framework rather than leaving it solely to Washington and Copenhagen.

The agreement follows months of pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has said the United States should control Greenland and at times declined to rule out military or economic force to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory. Those threats, which peaked in January, triggered a diplomatic crisis within NATO and pushed Denmark and Greenland into negotiations with Washington aimed at easing the pressure.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told national broadcaster TV2 on Sunday that the agreement would be structured so that responsibility for Arctic security is not only Danish or American. He said that to a large extent "it would be NATO that looks after the Arctic."

A NATO spokesperson said on Saturday that the alliance welcomed the agreement, which would "help advance security, stability and cooperation in this vital region."

Rasmussen, who travelled to New York overnight, declined to discuss the contents of the agreement. "But we have said from the start that we are open to accommodating the United States' legitimate security interests," he told Danish news agency Ritzau on Monday.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday that the agreement gives the United States "permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland," and that no US adversary could have a base or military presence there without Washington's written approval. Denmark has not responded to Trump's claim, though Copenhagen has earlier acknowledged it underinvested in Greenland's defence for decades and has pledged to expand its military presence on the island, including more NATO troops.

Key details have not been made public, including whether the deal amends the 1951 defence agreement that is the legal basis for the US presence in Greenland.

Greenland's government has sought to reassure the public about the deal. Erik Jensen, an opposition lawmaker in Greenland, wrote on Facebook that he had read the draft agreement: "I feel reassured and am not worried," he said, adding that the island's foreign minister was handling the work well.