NEW YORK — President Donald Trump signed a security deal with the leaders of Greenland and Denmark on Tuesday, granting the United States wide-ranging powers to secure and defend the Arctic island as it remains Danish territory.
The signing ceremony, which took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly here in New York, follows months of tension between Washington and its European allies over Greenland, with fears that a U.S. move to seize the territory by force could irreparably split the NATO alliance.
Trump, signing the deal with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said it had been an “amazing journey” with “tremendous people,” adding that the deal will be “tremendous for Europe and for the United States, for everybody, and for Greenland.”
Frederiksen called the deal a “bigger and better” agreement than the 1951 treaty that outlines the sovereignty of Greenland, while Nielsen said it reflected a focus on the “people of Greenland, our rights, our livelihoods and the development of our country.”
The Greenland deal gives the Trump administration a foreign policy achievement ahead of the potentially fraught midterm elections for the Republican Party. The election will take place amid global economic and political uncertainty as the U.S. war with Iran continues.
The text of the agreement, which was released by the Danish government Tuesday, shows that the agreement has no end date and can be amended only by mutual consent, even if Greenland becomes independent from Denmark.
The U.S. military’s access to Greenland includes the “establishment of a Golden Dome defense system,” suggesting that the Arctic territory will be part of the Trump administration’s proposed missile defense system. It also describes Narsarsuaq in the south and Mestersvig in the east as two new “defense areas” for U.S. military use.
Investors from outside of NATO or the European Union are blocked from the country unless they have approval from the three countries, the agreement states.
Trump included the Greenland agreement in his speech to world leaders at the United Nations on Tuesday morning, listing it among the achievements of his second term so far.
“We will have the complete ability to do what is necessary to defend the American continent and also Europe and other places,” Trump said, adding that the United States would build two new military bases in Greenland as a result of the deal.
Trump also downplayed the tension caused by his push for U.S. control of Greenland, praising Denmark as an “incredible, beautiful country” and stating that the deal over Greenland would “very much” enhance NATO, which he described as “stronger than ever.”
European leaders largely welcomed the agreement. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised the deal in a statement, saying it enhances the bloc’s “collective security and supports a safer and more stable future for us all.”
“My visit to Greenland earlier this month underscored the strategic importance of the region and the scale of the challenges. Challenges we will face together,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The U.S. has had a military presence in Greenland since World War II, though the scale of that presence had declined over recent decades, dipping from 17 military installations during the Cold War to one, Pituffik Space Base, at present.
Trump has coveted Greenland since his first term, when cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder, a friend of the president, told him that Greenland had extensive mineral wealth. U.S. officials have also said that they needed greater control of Greenland due to Chinese and Russian ambitions in the Arctic.
Trump and some of his allies repeatedly floated the idea that the U.S. could take Greenland by force. Despite the bombast, quieter talks were held among U.S., Greenlandic and Danish officials over the past few months, with deputy national security adviser Mike Needham leading the negotiations for the Trump administration.
The deal signed Tuesday is an update to the 1951 treaty with Denmark that gave Washington the ability to open military bases in Greenland. U.S. officials have said it will not need the approval of Congress, but it must be ratified by parliaments in both Denmark and Greenland before becoming law.
Michael Birnbaum and Ellen Francis contributed to this report.
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