US President Donald Trump says the United States has reached an agreement with Denmark and Greenland that would give Washington permanent control over security and other defence needs on the Arctic island.
Trump announced the agreement on Friday, saying the United States would have the ability to take measures it considers necessary to protect Greenland and US security interests. He also said countries regarded as US adversaries would be barred from establishing military bases or making sensitive investments on the island without American approval.
The announcement follows months of tension over Trump's repeated calls for greater US control of Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Trump has argued that Greenland is strategically important to US national security because of its location in the Arctic.
Under the emerging agreement, Washington would be able to expand its military presence on Greenland. The United States already operates the Pituffik Space Base in the northwest of the island and has significant military access rights under an existing 1951 defence agreement with Denmark.
However, the agreement does not transfer ownership of Greenland to the United States. Reuters reported that the arrangement falls well short of Trump's previous ambition of acquiring the territory outright.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen welcomed the agreement, saying it recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark as well as Greenlanders' right to self-determination. She said the arrangement would strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic region.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen also welcomed the deal, saying it recognised Greenland's interests and would strengthen the island's security.
The precise terms of the agreement have not yet been fully made public. Denmark and Greenland said the pact is expected to be signed during next week's United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York, but it remains subject to approval by the relevant parliaments.
The agreement could mark a significant change in US-Danish security cooperation in the Arctic, particularly as Washington seeks to limit the presence and influence of countries such as Russia and China in the strategically important region.
For now, Greenland remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and the reported agreement concerns expanded US security and military access rather than a transfer of sovereignty to Washington.