Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady toured Pituffik Space Base, a US military base in northwestern Greenland, on March 28, 2025.
On Tuesday, President Donald J. Trump signed an agreement with Denmark and Greenland aimed at strengthening Arctic and North Atlantic security, paving the way for more US bases in Greenland and easing tensions over his repeated calls for the vast island to become part of the United States. About two-thirds of its territory sits inside the Arctic Circle, where melting sea ice has opened additional shipping routes.
The signing on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York comes days after Trump announced the deal to bolster the US military presence on Greenland but keep it under Danish control. The agreement would still apply if Greenland eventually chooses independence.
“This is tremendous for Europe and for the United States and for everybody,” Trump said just before the agreement was signed. “And for Greenland, it’s going to be incredible.” President Trump had tried for months to purchase or annex the semi-autonomous territory, arguing that it has vulnerable to adversaries, including Russia and China.
A NATO spokesperson said the military alliance welcomed the deal, which would “help advance security, stability and cooperation in this vital region.”
The United States was prominent in Greenland for decades but, since 1945, the US military presence in Greenland has decreased from thousands of soldiers on 17 bases and installations to roughly 100 soldiers on the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest. The base supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the US and NATO.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly ahead of the signing, Trump said the United States would “immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate locations,” including “building two very major military bases.”
“THE ART OF THE DEAL” WORKED AGAIN!
Trump has expressed his desire to acquire Greenland, population 56,000, since as long ago as 2019. Officials from the United States, Greenland and Denmark negotiated for months behind the scenes, searching for solutions to address some of Trump’s security concerns about the mineral-rich island.
Denmark’s parliament approved a bill last year to allow US military bases on Danish soil, widening a 2023 agreement made with the Biden Administration that gave US troops broad access to air bases in Denmark. Trump previously insisted the US needed to “take Greenland,” to prevent Russia or China from doing the same. Though Trump said he would rather “make a deal” for the territory, he added, “one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”
The agreement, released by all three governments after the signing, allows for Washington DC to “modernize and expand” its activities at Pituffik. It also says the US can set up “defense areas” at Narsarsuaq in the south and Mestersvig in the east, and that it “may establish additional defense areas in Greenland and strengthen its military operations or facilities.” Washington is to award contracts for goods and services related to setting up, maintaining or dismantling such bases “to Greenlandic sources to the maximum extent possible.”
The accord calls for wide US military mobility on Greenland’s territory, including “undersea access.” It says the signatories share an interest in allowing the US military access to Greenland to defend the NATO area, Greenland itself and the American continent, including through “Golden Dome,” Trump’s planned missile defense system. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said no decision had been made on the specifics of that system.
No non-NATO country will be allowed to set up “its own manned or unmanned military installations in Greenland,” or to have a “persistent” military presence unless the signatories agree otherwise. The deal “strengthens our common security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic area” while also recognizing “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom (of Denmark) and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination,” Frederiksen said in a joint statement with Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
The accord “does not have an end date” and, if Greenland chooses to become independent, it will agree to remain in NATO and take on Denmark’s rights and obligations under the deal. Frederiksen on Tuesday called the agreement a “deal that can last forever,” labeling it as good for the United States, Greenland, Denmark and the broader NATO alliance. “Mr. President, you have been very clear: You don’t want adversaries to come too close,” she said. “I fully agree.”
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland’s prime minister, called it “a win-win-win agreement.” “Your security is our security,” he said, “and our security is your security.” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte celebrated the accord’s signing, writing on X that “this agreement, along with NATO’s growing role in securing this vital region, enhances our collective security and supports a safer and more stable future for us all.”
“Trump Inks Historic Arctic Security Agreement”
DENMARK NOW IN BETTER POSITION
Naaja Nathanielsen, one of Greenland’s two lawmakers in the Danish parliament and a former government minister in Nuuk, called the accord “a huge step in the right direction,” and praised it as the first binding agreement Greenland has signed as a country. “For us, that is a huge step forward in our quest for more self-autonomy and a bigger seat at the table,” she said.
A clearly relieved Frederiksen said at a post-signing appearance with Nielsen that “the Kingdom of Denmark is in a better place than we were yesterday.” She concluded the news conference by saying: “I think we’ll head out soon and get a cold beer.”
Also breathing a sigh of relief Tuesday were fellow NATO countries. Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said that while a lot remains to be seen, the announcement was “very positive and good.” “But I do hope that this issue is closed because it was not entirely comfortable that you have this discussion between really good friends and allies,” Rinkevics told a small group of reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The agreement would still need to go through “the necessary parliamentary procedures to enter into force” the statement noted. Nielsen said it was “gratifying that we are about to enter into an agreement that ensures and strengthens the security of Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, the United States and the Western alliance.” “The agreement recognizes Greenland’s interests and our place in international co-operation. It is for the benefit of us all”, he said.
Check me out on X @dianelgruber.
At his March 2025 address to a Joint Session of Congress, President Trump talked about Greenland the Golden Dome Defense System:
Electrifying: Trump Addresses Joint Session Of Congress & We The People
President Donald J. Trump gave an electrifying speech last night at his first joint session of Congress during America’s Golden Age, just six weeks after his inauguration. Below are the key parts of his speech, the longest address to a joint session of Congress in modern history because, on his 42nd day in office, he had so many accomplishments and so m…
The author, Diane L. Gruber, is a First Amendment advocate who writes for Substack. She calls her Substack newsletter America First Re-Ignited. Follow me on X @DianeLGruber.
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