Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1211 EAT on Wednesday 14 October 2026
US President Donald Trump has said Washington has reached an agreement with Denmark and Greenland that grants the United States “permanent control over security and all other needs”.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, Trump said the agreement was reached following discussions with representatives of Denmark and Greenland.
“At my direction, we worked with representatives of Denmark and Greenland to guarantee that the US will FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland,” he wrote.
He added that US adversaries would be barred from establishing military bases or deploying personnel in Greenland without written authorisation from Washington.
Trump, who had previously threatened to annex the Arctic island on national security grounds, said plans would begin immediately to establish a significant US military presence at suitable locations across Greenland, noting that several potential sites had been identified. He described the development as “a dream come true for the United States of America”.
The US already enjoys extensive overflight and basing rights in Greenland under a 1951 treaty. However, Trump’s announcement suggests he was satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations and may not pursue his territorial ambitions, at least in the near term.
Although he provided few details about the planned expansion, apart from referencing the existing US Space Force base in Greenland’s remote northwest, his remarks suggest broader strategic ambitions for the Arctic island.
Denmark and Greenland also issued a joint statement on Friday indicating that an agreement with the US is expected to be signed during next week’s United Nations General Assembly session.
The statement added that the agreement would be subject to parliamentary approval in both Nuuk and Copenhagen.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the deal “recogdnises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the kingdom and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination”.
On Saturday, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in a social media post that the agreement could bring an end to prolonged uncertainty.
“A long period of uncertainty will hopefully be replaced by a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and North Atlantic and thereby also our shared security in NATO and Europe,” he said.
NATO also welcomed the announcement on Saturday, with a spokesperson saying the agreement would “help advance security, stability and cooperation in this vital region”.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the deal with the US would strengthen the territory’s security.
In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the agreement “permanently and completely” addressed Washington’s national security concerns regarding Greenland.
“Greenland will forever be part of the strategic defence area of North America and exclude any adversary from it and the surrounding area,” Rubio wrote.
Observers say the agreement could provide a way out of the prolonged diplomatic tensions surrounding Greenland.
Mikkel Olesen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said that although the full details of the deal remain undisclosed, it offers an opportunity to resolve a standoff that has lasted more than a year and a half.
“It also has to do with excluding Russia and China from Greenland, excluding them, barring them from having military bases,” Olesen said.
He added that Denmark and Greenland were likely to find this provision more acceptable because neither wants Russia or China to establish military bases on the island.
“So, there are a lot of things we don’t know,” Olesen said. “But overall, I think the positive thing to zoom in on here is that it has the potential to end the crisis, and also, I see that, without the loss of sovereignty for Denmark and Greenland.”
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said Trump views the agreement as a major strategic victory.
Fisher said Trump was expected to seek an expansion of US military bases in Greenland, which he considers important to his proposed Golden Dome missile defence programme.
“It’s thought that Donald Trump will look to expand the number of US bases in Greenland. He sees it as an important step in his Golden Dome missile programme. He wanted to place interceptors and also trackers there,” Fisher said.
He added that Trump had repeatedly highlighted Greenland’s rare earth mineral deposits while discussing his ambitions to take control of the island.
“What is interesting is that all the time Donald Trump has been talking about what he wanted to do with Greenland and take over Greenland, he talked a lot about rare earth minerals,” Fisher said.
-Aljazeera
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