Trump Announces US-Denmark Agreement Granting Permanent Security Control Over Greenland
President Donald Trump announced Friday, September 18, that the United States has struck a security agreement with Denmark and Greenland granting America what he described as permanent control over the Arctic territory’s security, marking a significant step in his long-running push to expand US influence over the island, though Danish officials have cautioned the deal is not yet final.
In a post on his social media platform, Trump said the agreement “gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns,” adding that no adversary of the United States would ever be permitted to establish a presence there. He said the administration would immediately begin developing what he called a “large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many,” and that the US would work with Greenlanders on the territory’s development and construction.
A State Department official told NBC News the agreement explicitly bars any non-NATO base or troop presence in Greenland and includes screening mechanisms intended to block investment from Russia, China and other adversaries. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the deal ensures Greenland will “forever be part of the strategic defense area of North America,” while the State Department official said the agreement is designed to remain in effect indefinitely, including in the event Greenland were to become fully independent from Denmark, guaranteeing the US “permanent access, basing, and overflight rights.”
Despite the sweeping language used by Trump and administration officials, Danish officials offered a more measured account of where things currently stand. According to The Washington Post, Danish officials said the agreement is not yet final, and stops short of Trump’s often-stated ambition of the US taking outright possession of the territory. Greenland and Denmark issued a joint statement Friday saying the agreement is expected to be formally signed next week during the high-level summit of the United Nations General Assembly, with both Greenland’s and Denmark’s parliaments still required to approve it before it can take effect.
Reacting to the announcement, Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, struck a cautiously positive tone, saying it was gratifying that the territory was about to enter an agreement that strengthens the security of Greenland, Denmark, the United States and the wider Western alliance, adding that it recognised Greenland’s interests and its place in international cooperation. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the agreement recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of the Greenlandic people to determine their own future.
The announcement follows months of tension between Washington and Copenhagen over Greenland’s status, after Trump repeatedly expressed interest in the US gaining greater control over the autonomous Danish territory since his return to office, at times declining to rule out the use of military or economic pressure to achieve that goal. Greenlandic officials have consistently maintained that the island is not for sale and that its future remains a decision for its own people.
With the agreement still pending formal signature and parliamentary approval in both Greenland and Denmark, questions remain over its precise legal scope and how it will be received by lawmakers in both territories in the days ahead, even as the Trump administration has moved quickly to characterise the deal as a resolved and permanent arrangement.
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