NEW YORK: The United States, Denmark and Greenland have signed a new trilateral security agreement aimed at strengthening defence cooperation in the strategically important Arctic region, opening the way for an expanded US military presence in Greenland.
US President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed the agreement in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
The deal amends and supplements the existing 1951 US-Denmark defence agreement covering Greenland. It provides broader scope for US military access and the development of defence infrastructure on the Arctic island.
Under the agreement, US forces, military vehicles, aircraft and vessels will receive expanded access to designated defence areas in Greenland. The pact also provides a framework for developing additional military and defence facilities, including systems linked to missile defence.
The strategic importance of Greenland lies in its location between North America and Europe and its position along key Arctic and North Atlantic routes. The agreement is intended to strengthen the security architecture of the region amid growing strategic competition in the Arctic.
At the same time, the agreement does not transfer sovereignty over Greenland to the United States. Denmark’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, along with the right of the people of Greenland to self-determination, are recognised in the agreement.
The pact also places restrictions on military facilities and permanent military presence by non-NATO countries in Greenland. It includes provisions intended to limit strategic investments by actors from outside NATO where they could raise national-security or public-order concerns.
The agreement comes after years of controversy over Trump’s repeated statements that the United States should acquire Greenland. Trump has argued that the island’s strategic location makes it important to US national security. Earlier remarks about the possibility of using military force to secure Greenland had triggered diplomatic tensions with Denmark and other European allies.
The new agreement takes a different route: rather than changing Greenland’s sovereignty, it seeks to expand US defence access and military cooperation while maintaining the existing constitutional status of the territory.
The agreement is described as having a permanent character, with no fixed expiration date. However, signing the document does not by itself bring it immediately into force. The required parliamentary procedures in Denmark and Greenland must be completed before the agreement becomes effective.
The pact is expected to give a new framework to US-Denmark-Greenland security cooperation and strengthen NATO’s northern defence posture in the Arctic.
