USA · updated 57m ago · 2 min read
Andy Burnham Congratulates Denmark and the United States on Greenland Security Deal
United States, Denmark and Greenland reached a security agreement on Greenland. Andy Burnham congratulated Danish PM Mette Frederiksen on the deal.
Whether the deal is substantive change or optics.
7 of 8 outlets skipped it: al Jazeera argues much may already be possible under 1951 accord.
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Al Jazeera downplays the deal as optics, while the BBC foregrounds Burnham’s praise.
Greenland security deal announced
The latest reporting says UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham congratulated Denmark and the United States on a deal to “strengthen security in the Arctic” after the two countries reached an agreement over Greenland.
““strengthen security in the Arctic””
Downing Street said Burnham and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen “welcomed the US’ commitment to the region” in a call on Sunday morning, and the readout said the leaders began by discussing their upcoming visits to New York for the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
The same readout said the leaders discussed the forthcoming signing of a new deal to strengthen security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic area between the US, Greenland and Denmark this week.
In parallel, Al Jazeera described the agreement as one that appears to be good news for Denmark and Greenland, while noting that “We still do not know exactly what the agreement contains.”A
Trump’s claims and critics
Al Jazeera said the emerging picture is close to a best-case scenario, but it highlighted that US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on September 19 that the deal is an “‘Infinite Life’ Agreement, there is no end!”A
The BBC reported that Trump declared Denmark would grant the US “permanent control over security, and all other needs” in the semi-autonomous Danish territory in the Arctic, and it said no text of the agreement has been released.B
The BBC also quoted Trump’s Truth Social language that the deal came with “no cost to the United States” and meant it could “do what is necessary” to “secure and defend the security of Greenland”.B
In response, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called the deal a “pretend” victory and said Trump’s claim was “almost a carbon copy of the existing agreement.”
What changes, what’s at stake
Denmark and Greenland welcomed the agreement while asserting it will not affect the sovereignty of the Arctic island, with Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen saying it respects Denmark’s “red lines.”
“Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the agreement respects Denmark’s “red lines,””
Ash-Sharq al-AWsat reported that the agreement would be signed on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week, and it said the US president praised the deal for granting “permanent control” over Greenland’s security.
The BBC added that the agreement would still need to go through “the necessary parliamentary procedures to enter into force” once signed, after Frederiksen said it would “strengthens our common security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic area” while recognizing “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom.”B
Fox News framed the stakes around Greenland’s strategic role and said the agreement still requires approval from Danish and Greenlandic lawmakers, while describing Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland and the island’s roughly 56,000 residents across five municipalities.