Composite story
U.S., Denmark and Greenland set an Arctic security deal short of a takeover
Nuuk, Sermersooq, GreenlandPublished 22 Sep 2026
U.S. Space Force photo by Paul Honnick / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain · source
Trump says the pact gives the United States permanent control over Greenland’s security. Denmark and Greenland say it leaves their sovereignty in place.
President Trump said Friday that an agreement with Denmark and Greenland gives the United States permanent control over Greenland’s security, at no cost, and keeps adversaries from bases and sensitive investments. Danish and Greenlandic leaders said the unpublished text leaves their sovereignty in place, respects self-determination, and strengthens Arctic security inside NATO. The parties were set to sign in New York during the U.N. General Assembly. NATO welcomed the pact. U.S. officials said it locks in a lasting military expansion, including if Greenland later becomes independent.
Disputed facts
None yet.
Shared opinions
None yet.
Disputed opinions
None yet.
Denmark says binding US deal on Greenland won't compromise sovereignty
Published 19 Sep 2026 accessed 22 Sep 2026
Facts
That demand alarmed NATO ally Denmark and drew pushback from the alliance.
Residents in Nuuk had mixed feelings about the agreement.
Jepsen said Denmark had not given that protection enough attention for many years.
Educator Bibbi Kleist Jepsen said she hopes the leaders made a good agreement because Greenland needs protection from the air and the sea.
Trump has warned that Russia and China are trying to establish a foothold in Greenland.
Opinion
No opinion marked.
NATO will share Arctic responsibility as Greenland security deal with U.S. moves forward, Denmark says
Published 22 Sep 2026 accessed 22 Sep 2026
Facts
Denmark says the agreement puts Arctic security under NATO’s watch rather than leaving it only to Washington and Copenhagen.
The deal is expected to let the United States, which already has one base in Greenland, expand to two more sites.
Denmark and Greenland say the deal will benefit the island.
The threats triggered a diplomatic crisis inside NATO.
Narsarsuaq’s population fell to a few dozen after the United States closed its Cold War Bluie West One base there in the 1950s.
Trump’s threats peaked in January.
Washington’s strategic interest in Greenland dates to the Second World War.
In 1941 the United States signed a deal with Danish envoy Henrik Kauffmann.
The United States sought that deal to keep Greenland out of German hands and to secure the North Atlantic supply route.
The 1951 agreement was tied to the existence of NATO.
Under the wartime agreement the United States built airfields, naval sites and weather stations and had about 5,500 personnel by 1943, according to DIIS.
In 1946 Harry Truman sought to buy Greenland for $100 million in gold.
Rasmussen said Denmark has been open from the start to accommodating the United States’ legitimate security interests.
About 150 U.S. military personnel are at Pituffik.
Denmark has not responded to Trump’s assertion of permanent control.
Rasmussen declined to discuss the contents of the agreement.
During the Cold War the United States kept 17 military sites and more than 10,000 personnel in Greenland.
Denmark has pledged to expand its military presence on the island, including more NATO troops.
Copenhagen earlier acknowledged it underinvested in Greenland’s defense for decades.
Greenland’s government has tried to reassure the public about the deal.
Opposition lawmaker Erik Jensen said he had read the draft agreement.
Opinion
Researcher Ulrik Pram Gad said the crisis is being used to strengthen NATO’s cohesion through Greenland.
Gad said he does not think Denmark and Greenland will sign unless the NATO clause remains.
Jensen said Greenland’s foreign minister was handling the work well.
Denmark and Greenland leaders cautiously optimistic after security deal with U.S.
Published 19 Sep 2026 accessed 22 Sep 2026
Facts
Frederiksen’s office said the Danish and Greenland governments still need parliamentary action before the deal can be enforced.
Rasmussen wrote that the next week could be a good week for Greenland, Denmark and the United States.
Múte B. Egede said Greenland now has an agreement within reach.
Egede told TV2 it had taken some time.
Trump insisted Greenland is crucial for U.S. security.
Denmark and Greenland condemned reports that the United States was gathering intelligence there.
Russia and much of Europe fiercely opposed the U.S. push for Greenland.
Denmark is a NATO ally of the United States.
Burgaard said that a fortnight earlier Trump had posted a map showing Greenland as part of the United States.
Burgaard, 56, said people worried Trump would take all of Greenland by force.
Many people in Denmark expressed relief that a deal with the United States seemed close.
Opinion
CBS described Danish and Greenlandic leaders as cautiously optimistic a day after Trump’s security announcement.
CBS said the announcement lets Trump tout a foreign-policy achievement before the U.S. midterms.
Activist Orla Joelsen said the fight against Trump’s ambition to take over Greenland has been won.
Burgaard said settling the dispute diplomatically is good.
Teacher Michael Frees said he thinks the agreement is the most realistic solution for Denmark right now.
Frees said a small nation has to cooperate with bigger countries and with the European Union.
Trump's Greenland deal set for signing after months-long fight over US control
Published 22 Sep 2026 accessed 22 Sep 2026
Facts
Administration officials said the new pact lets Washington add military installations without separate Danish or Greenlandic approval.
Those leaders said Greenland’s future could be decided only by the Greenlandic people.
Egede said the agreement respects the government’s red lines, including Greenlanders’ right to self-determination.
Copenhagen keeps foreign, defense and security policy, while Greenland controls many domestic affairs, including minerals.
Egede said the deal lets Nuuk deepen defense cooperation with the United States and other Western allies.
Egede acknowledged that Trump’s earlier threats had taken a toll.
Greenlandic politicians urged the public to reserve judgment until the final text is signed and released.
The official said future bases, weapons and forces would still carry the normal costs of a larger U.S. presence.
A U.S. official involved in the talks said the expanded access could eventually support Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense.
Trump said the United States will take action on Greenland whether others like it or not.
The administration sought guarantees against China, Russia or other adversaries establishing a foothold in Greenland.
U.S. officials compared the effort to concerns about Chinese involvement in strategic infrastructure at the Panama Canal.
Opinion
Fox called the Greenland agreement a major victory for President Trump.
Marco Rubio called the deal a huge win for the United States and the American people.
Fox said Tuesday’s signing is meant to end a stretch in which Greenlanders wondered how far Trump would go to bring the island under U.S. control.
Fox said the administration sees Greenland’s location as more important because Russia and China are competing in the Arctic.
The administration argues that writing those limits into the Greenland deal now will keep a similar vulnerability from developing in the Arctic.
Trump announces agreement with Denmark to secure permanent control over Greenland's security
Published 18 Sep 2026 accessed 22 Sep 2026
Facts
Those threats led to warnings that such a move could collapse NATO.
Trump described the pact as an infinite-life agreement.
Polls have consistently shown Greenlanders overwhelmingly reject American annexation.
Denmark and Norway colonized Greenland more than 300 years ago.
The Trump administration kept trying to sway opinion, including a May visit by special envoy Jeff Landry, the governor of Louisiana.
Opinion
Beijing dismissed that argument as an excuse for Trump’s territorial ambitions.