USA22 September, 20263 min read
Trump Administration, Denmark, and Greenland Sign Arctic Security Deal, Reopening Cold War Base
Tripartite Greenland deal signed at UN, expanding US military presence with new bases. Arctic security placed under NATO oversight, sharing responsibility among allies.
Deal to expand U.S. bases
The United States, Denmark, and Greenland are expected to sign a new strategic agreement on Tuesday on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York, with a White House official saying President Donald Trump will meet Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen to finalize it.
The agreement is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time, and the White House official said it aims to ensure the security of Greenland and the United States and to defend them.
Three sources familiar with the matter said the United States intends to reopen a former Cold War era military base in southern Greenland and to expand alongside the current military presence at a base on the eastern coast used by Danish dog sled patrols under the Tuesday agreement.
The reported sites include Narssarsuit, whose population has dwindled to a few dozen since the United States closed the Blödy West One base in the 1950s, and Misersvig, a remote military point currently used by Sirius dog sled patrols, a unit of the Danish special forces.
The text of the agreement has not been published publicly, and the sources who requested anonymity said its details will not be final until it is signed.
NATO role and Trump claims
Denmark said the agreement will be framed so that security responsibility in the Arctic is not solely Danish or American, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said NATO will largely oversee Arctic affairs.
The U.S. State Department said on Friday that the security agreement relating to Greenland ensures that China and Russia cannot establish bases on the polar island.
A State Department official said, “The agreement explicitly guarantees the United States the full ability to do whatever is necessary in Greenland to ensure and defend the American continent, including permanent access rights, establishing military bases, and airspace overflight.”
Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday that the agreement gives the United States “permanent control over security and all other needs in Greenland,” and that it does not allow any U.S. adversary to establish a base or military presence there without written approval from Washington.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Saturday the alliance welcomes the agreement, which would “help strengthen security, stability, and cooperation in this vital region.”
What changes and what’s at stake
The agreement is expected to allow the U.S. to expand its military footprint in Greenland beyond the existing Pituffik Space Base, with Reuters reporting that the deal would open two new military sites: Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig. Reuters said Narsarsuaq is a former Cold War airbase whose population has dwindled to just a few dozen, and Reuters said Mestersvig is currently used by the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite Danish special forces unit. The text remains unpublished ahead of Tuesday’s signing, and Reuters said it remains unclear whether the agreement amends a 1951 defense treaty that has been the legal basis for U.S. presence or operates as a new framework.
“Trump said on Friday that the deal gives the US ‘permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland.’”
Denmark and Greenland said the agreement respects the kingdom’s sovereignty and Greenland’s right to self-determination, while Trump said on Friday the deal gives the U.S. “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland.” Reuters said Trump’s refusal to rule out military or economic force to acquire Greenland triggered a diplomatic crisis in January within NATO and forced Denmark and the island’s government into intensive negotiations.