The US-Denmark deal allows an increase in US military presence in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Donald Trump on Friday announced that the United States, Denmark, and Greenland have secured a deal allowing the US to establish a major military presence on the island while strictly prohibiting American adversaries from establishing bases there.
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote that US enemies would not be able to make sensitive investments on the island without US approval and that the agreement had no expiry date.
“At my direction, we worked with representatives of Denmark and Greenland to guarantee that the 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 wrote.
‘Dream come true’
The US-Denmark deal allows an increase in US military presence in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. This deal stops well short of Trump’s long-held dream of acquiring the island for the United States.
The US already has near-total overflight and basing rights in Greenland under a 1951 treaty, according to a Reuters report.
Pleased by the outcome of the negotiations, Trump’s announcement suggested that he might not revive his territorial claims, at least in the near future.
Without elaborating, he said the US would soon deploy a large military presence on the island, which already hosts one Space Force base in its remote northwest.
“This is a dream come true for the United States of America,” Trump wrote.
The agreement would strengthen security in the North Atlantic and Arctic, the news agency quoted the Danish prime minister’s office as saying.
In a statement, Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said that the agreement recognised Greenland’s interests and the Arctic island’s place in international cooperation. “This benefits us all,” he said.
Extent of agreement unclear
The extent of agreement of the US-Denmark Greenland deal remains unclear, Reuters said, including whether any new US bases would be constructed under the agreement.
It would be new if the US could build bases without the approval of Greenland or Denmark, but that “largely, it seems that Washington could have achieved a lot of these objectives through diplomacy and dialogue without straining the broader US-NATO relationship,” said Imran Bayoumi, a former Pentagon official now with the Atlantic Council think tank, according to Reuters.
‘Greenland forever a part of strategic defence area’
In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the deal “permanently and completely” addressed Washington’s national security concerns regarding the island.
“Greenland will forever be part of the strategic defence area of North America and exclude any adversary from it and the surrounding area,” he said.
A State Department official told Reuters that the deal prohibits non-NATO countries from building a base in Greenland and will allow only the US and its allies to make unspecified “sensitive investments.”
The official said the agreement grants the US permanent access, basing and overflight rights, and would continue to apply even if Greenland becomes independent.
(With Reuters inputs)
