Trump Announces Greenland Deal; Signing Expected Next Week

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States had reached a Greenland security agreement that would give it permanent control over security there. Danish and Greenlandic leaders said they expect to sign the agreement next week.

Trump said U.S. adversaries would be barred from establishing bases, maintaining a military presence or making sensitive investments in Greenland without written U.S. approval. He described the agreement as having no end date and said it would cost the United States nothing.

The president also said the United States would begin developing a large military presence in Greenland and work with Greenlanders on its construction. He did not identify a location or specify what facilities would be built.

A joint statement published by Denmark’s Prime Minister’s Office said the United States, Denmark and Greenland expect to sign the agreement at the U.N. General Assembly next week. It would take effect only after the necessary national parliamentary procedures.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the proposed agreement would strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic while recognizing the Kingdom of Denmark’s sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, chairman of Greenland’s government, said it recognizes Greenland’s interests in international cooperation.

“The agreement recognizes Greenland’s interests and our place in the international cooperation.”

— Jens-Frederik Nielsen

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the deal would permanently address U.S. security concerns in Greenland and exclude adversaries from the area.

The governments have not published the agreement’s text. Its detailed terms, including the scope of any expanded U.S. military presence, remain to be established through the expected signing and parliamentary process.