Donald Trump has announced a deal with Denmark and Greenland granting the United States permanent military access to the strategically important Arctic territory, while leaving sovereignty in Danish hands.
The agreement would give Washington permanent rights to access, base forces and fly over Greenland, as well as the ability to establish additional military installations. It would also bar China, Russia and other non-Nato countries from building bases or maintaining troops on the island.
Details of the pact have not been made public, and the agreement still requires approval from the Danish and Greenlandic parliaments before it can take effect.
The office of Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said the three governments were expected to sign the agreement during the United Nations General Assembly next week.
Ms Frederiksen said the deal recognised the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.
Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said the agreement recognised the island’s interests and would benefit all three governments.
Mr Trump announced the arrangement in a post on Truth Social, describing it as an agreement giving the US “permanent control over security, and all other needs” in Greenland.
“This is an ‘Infinite Life’ Agreement, there is no end!” he wrote, adding that his administration would begin developing a larger American military presence on the island.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the deal a “historic” success, saying it would ensure that Greenland remained part of the strategic defence area of North America and prevent adversaries from gaining a foothold there.
The arrangement is also understood to restrict hostile states from investing in sensitive parts of Greenland’s economy, including telecommunications, undersea cables, ports and critical minerals.
A senior US official said the deal would allow the United States and its allies to make sensitive investments on the island, while preventing adversaries from exploiting infrastructure with potential national-security implications.
The agreement is intended to have no expiry date and would remain in force even if Greenland eventually became independent, according to the official. It would not, however, transfer sovereignty to the United States.
The announcement follows months of private negotiations involving US, Danish and Greenlandic officials. Mr Trump had repeatedly argued that American control of Greenland was necessary to protect US national security, and had previously refused to rule out using force to acquire it.
Denmark and Greenland had rejected his demands, insisting that the island was not for sale. The new deal represents a diplomatic alternative to Mr Trump’s earlier calls for the United States to own the territory.
The United States already operates Pituffik Space Base in north-western Greenland under a defence agreement dating back to 1951. The base supports missile-warning, missile-defence and space-surveillance operations for the US and Nato.
It remains unclear how many new American facilities will be built or precisely how the expanded military presence will operate. Danish officials have said the pact is intended to strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic while respecting the kingdom’s sovereignty and Greenland’s right to determine its own future.
