19.9.2026
Denmark and Greenland on Saturday said any agreement with the United States would not compromise Greenland’s sovereignty, after President Donald Trump said the deal would give Washington “permanent control” over the Arctic island’s security, leaving its precise scope unclear.
The United States, Denmark and Greenland said late on Friday they had reached an agreement for the US to develop a significant military presence on Greenland, while prohibiting US adversaries from building their own bases on the island.
Key details of the agreement have not been made public, including the scale of US military presence in the self-governing Danish territory and whether any formal power over foreign policy and resources would be ceded to Washington.
Denmark and Greenland expressed hope that a deal, which is expected to be signed during the UN General Assembly next week, would end months of uncertainty triggered by Trump’s threats to seize control of Greenland.
“Next week could be a good week – for Greenland, Denmark, and the United States,” Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a statement posted on Facebook on Saturday.
“A time of uncertainty will hopefully give way to a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic, and thereby our shared security within NATO and Europe – while respecting the (Danish) Kingdom’s red lines,” he said.
But some residents in Greenland’s capital Nuuk expressed scepticism about closer ties with Washington.
“The US should not control Greenland. I think it’s better if we have cooperation with NATO,” said Jakob Ludvigsen, 65.
“Trump should stay far, far, far away from Greenland,” Marianne Hansen, a 71-year-old retired chef, told Reuters in Nuuk. “He should not expect our children and grandchildren to become Americans in the future.” Reuters
