US, Denmark and Greenland Sign Deal to Expand American Military Footprint
The US, Denmark and Greenland signed a security agreement in New York to expand the US military presence on the strategic island.
The United States, Denmark and Greenland signed a security agreement in New York on Tuesday to expand the US military presence on the strategic Arctic island.
The deal was inked at a ceremony on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly by US President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Under the wide-ranging agreement, the United States will be permitted to modernize and expand its activities at the Pituffik Space Base, which it already operates in remote northwestern Greenland. Washington will also be allowed to establish an additional defense area at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig.
The pact further permits US aircraft to fly over and land in any territory in Greenland, including its territorial waters.
According to the agreement, no state that is not a member of NATO shall be allowed to establish its own manned or unmanned military installations in Greenland. It also blocks non-NATO, non-EU countries from controlling the territory's sensitive sectors.
The document reaffirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and recognizes that the people of Greenland constitute a people with the right to self-determination.
The agreement will enter into force on the date of a diplomatic note informing the United States of the completion of necessary parliamentary procedures by the Kingdom of Denmark together with Greenland.