Trump Announces Agreement With Denmark and Greenland

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the White House has reached an agreement granting the United States “permanent control over security” in Greenland.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced this on his social media platform, Truth Social.

As reported by The Washington Post, although Trump declared victory in his long-standing desire to strengthen U.S. influence in the Arctic, the agreement falls significantly short of his previously stated goals.

The U.S. president stated that he had agreed with the leaders of Denmark and Greenland that Washington would have broad authority to ensure the security and protection of Greenland (which is a territory of Denmark), “fully addressing ALL of our numerous U.S. concerns.”

“At my direction, we have worked with representatives from Denmark and Greenland to ensure that the United States will ALWAYS have the full capacity to do what is necessary in Greenland to guarantee the security and defense of both Greenland and the United States of America,” he said.

Trump is expected to meet with the leaders of Denmark and Greenland next week in New York at the UN General Assembly, where they plan to sign the agreement. Afterward, it must be ratified by the parliaments of those countries.

“I am pleased that there is the prospect of a good agreement for Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, and the United States,” said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a joint statement with Greenlandic leaders.

As the publication notes, the outline of the agreement appears to be a compromise that gave Trump a victory to boast about in the run-up to the mid-term elections, while also allaying the fears of Denmark, Greenland, and Europe that the U.S. seeks to formally annex the island.
According to the preliminary text of the agreement:

• Only NATO members may establish military bases in Greenland.
• Only NATO and EU members may make sensitive investments there.
• The agreement is designed to remain in effect even in the event of Greenland’s possible secession from Denmark.
• At the same time, the document does not grant the United States the right to veto decisions made by Greenland itself.

The document is drafted in such a way that Trump can declare victory while simultaneously guaranteeing that Denmark and Greenland retain their sovereignty.

In fact, this agreement is an update to the 1951 U.S.-Denmark defense agreement, which was renewed in 2004. If signed, in addition to the already existing broad opportunities for establishing U.S. military bases in Greenland, it will block access by Chinese and Russian investors to potential projects involving the extraction of rare earth metals, which have long been of interest to the U.S.

In addition, the new document is intended to ensure that the agreements remain in effect even in the event of Greenland’s possible secession from Denmark.