Denmark Signals Cautious Optimism on US-Greenland Security Deal

Denmark's government responded with cautious optimism on Saturday to US President Donald Trump's announcement of a deal on Greenland that would expand the American military footprint on the Arctic island while leaving it under Danish control. The announcement follows months of pressure from Washington, including Trump's repeated refusal to rule out seizing the semiautonomous territory of a NATO ally.

Trump said on Friday that the agreement would give the United States "permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland," addressing what he described as American concerns. The office of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen later said the deal would be signed by all three governments next week during the United Nations General Assembly, though parliamentary approval is still required in both Denmark and Greenland before it takes effect.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen struck an upbeat note, writing on Instagram that the coming week could prove positive for Greenland, Denmark and the United States alike. He said a period of uncertainty could give way to a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic, and by extension within NATO and Europe, while respecting the Kingdom's red lines.

Greenland's foreign minister, Múte B. Egede, said he was pleased that an agreement was now within reach. "It has taken some time," he told Danish broadcaster TV2, adding that he was glad to see a final product emerge and that it was about time.

Under the deal, Trump said the US would immediately begin work on a larger military presence on the mineral-rich island. Washington maintained several bases and installations there during the Cold War before scaling back. It still operates the remote Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, established after the US and Denmark signed the Defense of Greenland Treaty in 1951, which supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance for the US and NATO.

A US State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the agreement bars any non-NATO base in Greenland, restricts adversary investment and guarantees that China and Russia cannot establish a base there.

Officials from the US, Greenland and Denmark had negotiated quietly for months, seeking ways to address Trump's security concerns about a territory of roughly 56,000 residents. The announcement allows Trump to present a foreign policy achievement ahead of US midterm elections.

After returning to the White House, Trump had urged Denmark to sell the island, calling it vital to US security and declining to rule out military force. Denmark and Greenland insisted the island was not for sale and condemned reports of US intelligence gathering there. The US push drew strong opposition from Russia and much of Europe.

Greenland pro-sovereignty activist Orla Joelsen wrote on X that the fight against Trump's ambition to take over the island had been won, noting that the new agreement explicitly recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination.