US, Denmark reach agreement on expanded military presence in Greenland

WASHINGTON: The United States, Denmark and Greenland have reached an agreement allowing Washington to expand its military presence on the Arctic island while restricting rival powers from establishing bases there, US President Donald Trump said on Friday.

Trump announced the agreement in a post on Truth Social and X, saying the arrangement would ensure that the United States retains the ability to take measures it considers necessary to protect Greenland and US security.

He said the agreement would also prevent US adversaries from making sensitive investments on the island without Washington’s approval and would remain in effect indefinitely.

The deal, however, falls short of Trump’s long-standing ambition to bring Greenland under US control. Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported that Washington and Copenhagen were nearing an agreement that would increase the US military footprint on the autonomous Danish territory without transferring sovereignty of the island to the United States.

The United States already enjoys extensive access to Greenland’s airspace and military facilities under a 1951 defence agreement with Denmark.

Denmark has said the new arrangement would contribute to strengthening security in the Arctic and the wider region.

Trump’s announcement suggests he was nonetheless pleased with the outcome of the negotiations and that he might not revive his territorial claims, at least in the near future. He said, without elaborating, that the US would soon be rolling out a large military presence on the island, which already hosts one Space Force base in its remote northwest.

“This is a dream come true for the United States of America,” Trump wrote.

Extent of agreement remains unclear

The Danish prime minister’s office said on Friday that the agreement would strengthen North Atlantic and Arctic security.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in a statement that the agreement recognized Greenland’s interests and the Arctic island’s place in international cooperation. “This benefits us all,” he said.

Much was unclear as of Friday night, including whether any new US bases would be constructed as a result of the agreement. Trump’s Truth Social posts about negotiations or agreements often lack context or specifics.

Imran Bayoumi, a former Pentagon official now with the Atlantic Council think tank, said it would be new if the US can build bases without the approval of Greenland or Denmark but that largely “it seems that Washington could have achieved a lot of these objectives through diplomacy and dialogue without straining the broader US-NATO relationship.”

It was also unclear how the agreement would be received in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. The island’s residents aspire to independence and have bristled at US attempts to assert control.

In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the deal “permanently and completely” addressed Washington’s national security concerns with respect to the island.

“Greenland will forever be part of the strategic defense area of North America and exclude any adversary from it and the surrounding area,” he wrote.

A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss specific terms, said the deal prohibits non-NATO countries from building a base in Greenland and will allow only the US and its allies to make unspecified “sensitive investments.” The official said the agreement grants the US permanent access, basing and overflight rights, and would continue to apply even if Greenland becomes independent.