President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States, Denmark and Greenland have reached a major security agreement that would significantly expand America’s military role on the Arctic island while leaving Greenland under Danish sovereignty.
Trump said the deal gives the United States permanent security access to Greenland and allows Washington to strengthen its military presence there without purchasing or annexing the territory.
“BREAKING NEWS: I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has entered into an Agreement with The Kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland, that gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“There will be NO COST to the United States!” he added.
“[T]he United States will FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the security of Greenland, and the United States of America,” Trump said.
The agreement follows months of tension between Washington and Copenhagen over Greenland, after Trump repeatedly argued that American control of the strategically located island was essential to U.S. national security.
Denmark and Greenland had firmly rejected the possibility of selling the territory or transferring sovereignty to the United States.
Under the new arrangement, Greenland will remain part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and officials from both Denmark and Greenland stressed Saturday that the agreement does not surrender control of the island.
The deal instead expands longstanding U.S. military rights in Greenland.
According to reporting on the agreement, the United States would receive permanent access, basing and overflight rights while gaining greater ability to expand military facilities on the island. Those provisions build on a defense relationship dating back to a 1951 agreement between Washington and Copenhagen.
The United States already operates Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, which plays an important role in missile warning, space surveillance and Arctic defense.
The base has hosted an American military presence for decades and remains strategically important to both the United States and NATO.
The new agreement would also restrict countries outside NATO from establishing military bases or making certain sensitive investments in Greenland.
China and Russia have been particular sources of concern as competition over the Arctic has intensified because of new shipping routes, natural resources and military activity.
Trump described the agreement as permanent and said it resolves longstanding U.S. security concerns involving Greenland.
The president had previously suggested that the United States might need to acquire the island outright, at times declining to rule out the use of military force. Those comments strained relations with Denmark and other European NATO allies.
The agreement appears to offer a compromise.
Washington gains a significantly larger and more durable military role in Greenland, while Denmark retains sovereignty and Greenland maintains its right to determine its own political future.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the arrangement preserves the island’s sovereignty and right to self-determination, while Danish officials said the agreement could strengthen security across both the Arctic and North Atlantic.
The agreement is expected to be formally signed during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Some details have not yet been made public, including the exact scale of any new American military construction and how the rules governing sensitive foreign investments will operate in practice.
Trump said the United States would begin moving quickly to expand its military presence once the agreement is implemented.
For Denmark and Greenland, the deal could also bring an end to one of the most contentious disputes between the Trump administration and America’s European allies.
Rather than transferring ownership of Greenland, the agreement gives Washington broader and permanent military access while keeping the island politically within the Danish kingdom.
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