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Trump signs US-Denmark-Greenland agreement to bolster Arctic security after prolonged tensions

AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

By FARNOUSH AMIRI and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an agreement with Denmark and Greenland aimed at strengthening Arctic and North Atlantic security, paving the way for more U.S. bases in Greenland and easing tensions over his repeated calls for the vast island to become part of the United States.

The signing on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York comes days after Trump announced the deal to bolster the U.S. 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."

Trump has expressed his desire to acquire Greenland since as long ago as 2019 and, during his second term, issued threats to seize the semiautonomous territory from Denmark, a NATO ally. On Tuesday, he did not respond to questions about whether a U.S. acquisition of Greenland was off the table.

The US has had a presence in Greenland for decades

Officials from the U.S., 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.

Trump's designs on Greenland strained relations within NATO, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warning a U.S. takeover would amount to the end of the Atlantic alliance.

The standoff unsettled many of Greenland's roughly 56,000 people and drove a wedge between the U.S. and Denmark and its European Union partners, who stepped up security exercises on and monetary support for the island.

Trade and hopes for a resource grab have factored into concerns about Greenland's future. About two-thirds of its territory sits inside the Arctic Circle, where melting sea ice has opened additional shipping routes.

The United States was prominent in Greenland for decades but, since 1945, the U.S. military presence in Greenland has decreased from thousands of soldiers on 17 bases and installations to roughly 200 soldiers on the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest. The base supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly ahead of the signing, Trump said the U.S. would "immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate locations," including "building two very major military bases."

Denmark's parliament approved a bill last year to allow U.S. military bases on Danish soil, widening a 2023 agreement made with the Biden administration that gave U.S. troops broad access to air bases in Denmark.

Trump previously insisted the U.S. 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 accord will remain in effect if Greenland becomes independent

The agreement, released by all three governments after the signing, allows for Washington to "modernize and expand" its activities at Pituffik.

It also says the U.S. 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 U.S. military mobility on Greenland's territory, including "undersea access." It says the signatories share an interest in allowing the U.S. 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. 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 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.

All parties present the agreement as a positive move

Frederiksen on Tuesday called the agreement a "deal that can last forever," labeling it as good for the U.S., 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, who helped turn down the temperature at the height of the crisis in January, 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."

But the standoff won't be forgotten quickly.

"A lot of trust has been tested, I would say," Naaja Nathanielsen, one of Greenland's two lawmakers in the Danish parliament and a former government minister in Nuuk, told The Associated Press. "It's been really difficult in Greenland and people have been generally afraid and worried about everything, from losing our country to our livelihoods and so on."

Nevertheless, Nathanielsen 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."

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Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim in Washington, and Geir Moulson and David Keyton in Berlin contributed to this report.