Trump signs Greenland security agreement — Global News Canada
US President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Denmark and Greenland in New York to strengthen security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic. The arrangement, concluded on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, opens the way for an expanded US military presence on the island, which will remain under Denmark’s control. Global News Canada reports.
The agreement will remain in force even if Greenland chooses independence in the future. It was the result of months of negotiations among representatives of the United States, Denmark and Greenland on security issues on the mineral-rich island.
New defense zones
The document allows Washington to modernize and expand operations at Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland. About 200 US military personnel are currently stationed there, and the base supports US and NATO missile-warning, missile-defense and space-surveillance systems.
The United States will also be able to establish defense zones in Narsarsuaq in the south of the island and Mestersvig in the east. The agreement allows for the creation of additional defense zones and the expansion of US military operations or facilities. Washington must, to the greatest extent possible, award contracts for the construction, maintenance or dismantling of such bases to Greenlandic suppliers.
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Terms for the US presence
The arrangement provides for broad mobility of US military personnel across Greenland, including underwater access. The parties stated a shared interest in ensuring US military access to defend NATO territory, Greenland itself and the American continent, including as part of Trump’s planned Golden Dome missile-defense system.
No non-NATO country will be able to deploy its own manned or unmanned military installations in Greenland or maintain a permanent military presence there without the consent of the parties. The agreement has no specified end date. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called it beneficial for the United States, Greenland, Denmark and NATO, while Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen called it mutually beneficial.
Trump has expressed a desire to purchase Greenland since 2019, and during his second presidential term threatened to seize the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, a US NATO ally. Frederiksen had previously warned that a US seizure of the island would mean the end of the North Atlantic Alliance.
