Trump Announces US-Denmark-Greenland Deal on Military Presence
Trump says a deal with Denmark and Greenland gives the US a lasting military presence and blocks adversary bases on the island.
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States, Denmark and Greenland have reached an agreement granting Washington a major and permanent military presence on the Arctic island, while barring American adversaries from establishing bases there.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the arrangement had no expiry date and that hostile states would not be able to make sensitive investments in Greenland without US approval.
"At my direction, we worked with representatives of Denmark and Greenland to guarantee that the United States will FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the security of Greenland, and the United States of America," he wrote.
Scope of the agreement
The deal allows an expanded US military footprint in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, but falls short of Trump's long-stated ambition of acquiring the island outright. Washington already holds near-total overflight and basing rights there under a 1951 treaty.
Trump said a large military deployment would follow soon, without offering details. Greenland currently hosts a single US Space Force base in its remote northwest.
"This is a dream come true for the United States of America," he wrote.
The Danish prime minister's office said the agreement would bolster security in the North Atlantic and the Arctic. Greenland's prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said it recognised the island's interests and its role in international cooperation. "This benefits us all," he said.
Rubio: concerns addressed
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a separate statement that the deal "permanently and completely" resolved Washington's national security concerns regarding the island.
"Greenland will forever be part of the strategic defence area of North America and exclude any adversary from it and the surrounding area," he said.
A State Department official said the agreement bars non-NATO countries from building a base in Greenland and permits only the US and its allies to make unspecified "sensitive investments." It grants Washington permanent access, basing and overflight rights, and would remain in force even if Greenland becomes independent, the official added.
Details still unclear
Several aspects of the arrangement remain undefined, including whether new US bases would be constructed. Analysts noted that much of what Washington sought might have been achievable through diplomacy without straining wider US-NATO ties.
Trump's announcement suggested he may not revive his territorial claims over Greenland, at least in the near term.