President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States has reached an agreement with Denmark and Greenland granting it “permanent control over security, and all other needs” on the Arctic island, a characterization that neither Copenhagen nor Nuuk had immediately confirmed.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the arrangement gives the United States “the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland” and described it as an “Infinite Life” agreement with no expiration. He said no U.S. adversary could establish a base, maintain a military presence, or make sensitive investments on the island “without our express written approval,” and that the deal carries “NO COST” to the United States.
“For over 100 years, Presidents have known the strategic importance of Greenland, but NONE of them were able to do anything about it,” he wrote, adding that the administration would “immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland.”
As of publication, neither the Danish government nor Greenland’s had issued a statement describing the agreement, and no text has been released.
The parties have repeatedly given conflicting accounts of the same talks.
After a January meeting between Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the sides had agreed to explore whether a common way forward could address American security concerns. The White House said the focus would be technical talks on the acquisition of Greenland. Denmark and Greenland publicly rejected any prospect of American acquisition that same week.
Trump made a similar announcement in January, saying he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had agreed on the framework of an Arctic security deal granting the United States “total access” to Greenland. Denmark and Greenland responded by calling the island’s sovereignty non-negotiable. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said his government was ready to negotiate a better partnership but that sovereignty was a red line. The framework’s specifics were never made public.
Public opinion in Greenland has been consistent throughout. Nielsen said in January that if forced to choose between the United States and Denmark, Greenland would choose Denmark, and that Greenland does not want to be governed by the United States. A January 2025 poll found 85% of Greenlanders opposed leaving Denmark to join the United States. Demonstrations in January drew roughly 4,000 people in Nuuk, about a quarter of the city and the largest protest in Greenland’s history.
The announcement follows months of pressure that Trump later reversed.
In January, he said he would impose an additional 10% tariff on Denmark, the United Kingdom, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden beginning Feb. 1, rising to 25% in June, until a deal was reached for the purchase of Greenland. The threat followed those NATO allies sending military personnel to Greenland for exercises. He cancelled the tariff threat later that month and pledged not to use military force.
Denmark has since deployed troops to Greenland under an operation involving about a dozen European countries, and Canada and France opened consulates in Nuuk.
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