Copenhagen: Denmark and Greenland have welcomed a security agreement with the United States that would expand Washington’s role in Greenland while maintaining Danish sovereignty over the Arctic territory.
US President Donald Trump said the “binding” agreement would give the United States permanent responsibility for Greenland’s security and prevent Russia and China from establishing military bases or making sensitive investments there.
The agreement is expected to be signed by the United States, Denmark and Greenland on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the agreement would strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic while respecting Denmark’s red lines.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the agreement recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said it recognises Greenland’s interests and strengthens its security.
The terms of the agreement have not yet been fully disclosed. Trump said the United States would begin expanding its military presence in Greenland.
The US already operates Pituffik Space Base in northern Greenland under existing defence arrangements with Denmark. Danish commentators noted that Washington already has significant military access under a 1951 defence agreement, updated in 2004.
A US State Department official said the new agreement would prevent Russia and China from establishing bases, deploying troops or making sensitive investments in Greenland.
Expected agreement on strengthened security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic Area pic.twitter.com/ARCMGgSA75
— Statsministeriet (@Statsmin) September 18, 2026
Trump has repeatedly cited concerns over Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic and called for greater US control over Greenland since returning to office in January 2025. His earlier calls for US control of the territory triggered tensions with Denmark and other NATO allies.
Danish Institute for International Studies researcher Ulrik Pram Gad said the agreement did not give Trump the sovereign control over Greenland that he had originally sought.
Several media reports have said the United States is considering three additional military bases in southern Greenland. The proposals come as NATO has increased its focus on Arctic security.
Greenland, with a population of about 57,000, remains an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. The final scope of the new US security arrangements is expected to become clearer when the agreement is formally presented.
