Denmark, Greenland and the United States are expected to sign a new security agreement on Greenland on Tuesday, with Copenhagen saying the deal will place greater responsibility for Arctic security under NATO.
The agreement is expected to be signed on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, following months of diplomatic tensions over United States President Donald Trump’s demands for greater control over Greenland.
The full text of the agreement has not been made public, leaving key details unclear, including whether it will amend the 1951 defence agreement that provides the legal basis for the United States military presence in Greenland.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social on Friday, claimed that the agreement would give the United States “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland.”
He also said no US adversary would be allowed to establish a base or maintain a military presence on the island without Washington’s written approval.
Denmark and Greenland have not commented directly on Trump’s claim, but both have said the agreement would benefit Greenland while respecting the island’s sovereignty.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the deal would ensure that responsibility for Arctic security would not rest solely with Denmark or the United States.
“It (the agreement) will be in a form where responsibility for security in the Arctic is not only Danish or American,” Rasmussen told national broadcaster TV2 on Sunday.
He added that “it would be NATO that looks after the Arctic” to a large extent.
A NATO spokesperson said on Saturday that the alliance welcomed the agreement, saying it would “help advance security, stability and cooperation in this vital region.”
Rasmussen, who travelled to New York overnight, declined to disclose further details about the agreement.
“But we have said from the start that we are open to accommodating the United States’ legitimate security interests,” he told Danish news agency Ritzau on Monday.
The agreement follows months of pressure from Trump, who has repeatedly said the United States should control Greenland and, at various points, declined to rule out military or economic force to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
His comments, which intensified in January, triggered a diplomatic crisis within NATO and prompted Denmark and Greenland to begin negotiations with Washington in an effort to ease tensions.
Copenhagen has previously acknowledged that it underinvested in Greenland’s defence for decades and has pledged to increase its military presence on the island, including through greater NATO involvement.
Greenland’s government has also sought to reassure residents about the agreement.
Erik Jensen, an opposition lawmaker in Greenland, said on Facebook that he had read the draft agreement and was reassured by its contents.
“I feel reassured and am not worried,” Jensen said, adding that Greenland’s foreign minister was handling the negotiations well.
Despite the planned signing, important details of the agreement remain undisclosed, particularly its relationship with the 1951 defence pact governing the US military presence in Greenland.
