The United States, Denmark and Greenland are expected to sign an agreement strengthening security in the Arctic and North Atlantic region at the U.N. General Assembly next week, Danish officials said Friday.
While the agreement is expected to merely update the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement, a Cold War-era treaty that grants the United States wide latitude to build and maintain military bases (such as Pituffik Space Base), deploy troops, maintain military operational control, and move freely across the island, President Donald Trump described the emerging deal in substantially broader terms than Danish and Greenlandic leaders used.
Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that the agreement gives the United States “permanent control over security, and all other needs” in Greenland, a semiautonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
He said no U.S. adversary would be permitted to establish a military base, maintain a military presence or make sensitive investments there without U.S. approval.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described the agreement in narrower terms, saying it would strengthen common security in the Arctic and North Atlantic while recognizing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.
That description indicates the agreement falls well short of Trump’s earlier demands for U.S. ownership or control of Greenland.
Trump previously said U.S. possession of the territory was “psychologically important” to him and that anything less than ownership would be “unacceptable.”
People familiar with the negotiations told The Washington Post that Trump’s assertion of “permanent control” overstated the authority the United States would receive.
According to the newspaper, the agreement would bar non-NATO countries from establishing military bases in Greenland and restrict sensitive investments to NATO and European Union members, but would not give Washington veto power over Greenlandic decisions.
Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the agreement would strengthen the security of Greenland, Denmark, the United States and the broader Western alliance while recognizing Greenland’s interests and role in international cooperation.
The agreement is expected to be signed next week in New York during the U.N. General Assembly. It would take effect only after completing the necessary parliamentary procedures in Denmark and Greenland.
The United States already has extensive military access to Greenland under the 1951 defense agreement with Denmark, which was updated in 2004. Washington currently operates Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a strategically important installation used for missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance.
Trump said the United States would “immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence” in Greenland. The precise size, location and cost of any expansion have not been publicly detailed.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the agreement would keep Greenland within what he called the strategic defense area of North America and “permanently and completely” address U.S. national security concerns.
The deal bars US adversaries from establishing a military presence or making “sensitive investments” in Greenland without US approval, which means China and Russia won’t be able to build bases, send troops there or invest in the island’s vast rare-earth mineral and critical metal deposits.
Mikkel Olesen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said that is not a major concession because “the Danes and Greenlanders never wished for Russia or China to have bases in Greenland.”
Trump’s petulant threat to acquire Greenland by force shattered Denmark’s long-held special relationship with the United States.
In January 2026, as tensions peaked, Danish forces prepared to sabotage Greenlandic airfields in the event of an American invasion.
Denmark had been a loyal NATO ally, contributing troops to U.S.-led missions and aligning its foreign policy with Washington until Trump’s threats turned that partnership adversarial overnight — pushing Copenhagen toward deeper European defense cooperation and leaving Danish leaders describing a rift that will not easily heal.
Many locals have voiced frustration and concern over Trump’s comments—like brushing off Denmark’s defense of the Arctic territory as just “two dog sleds”—which they feel belittle their culture and ability to thrive in the harsh Arctic conditions.
Greenlandic leaders and citizens have also expressed strong resentment over Trump’s aggressive, multi-year campaign to buy, annex, or take control of the island.
Citizens and officials have criticized Trump’s focus on the island’s critical minerals and strategic location, stating that Greenland is a nation with its own identity, not a territory to be exploited.
The full text of the agreement had not been released Friday, leaving important details about the extent of U.S. authority and the planned expansion of the American military presence unresolved.
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