US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he had concluded an agreement with Denmark to strengthen the US military presence in Greenland, after months of threatening to seize the island by force from the NATO member state.
The agreement “gives the United States permanent control over security and all other needs in Greenland, and fully addresses all of our many American concerns,” Trump said in a social media post announcing the deal.
He added that under the agreement, his administration would “immediately” begin the process of developing a greater military presence on mineral-rich Danish territory.
The office of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that the agreement will be signed by three governments next week during the United Nations General Assembly, but parliamentary action is still needed by the Danish and Greenland governments before it can be implemented.
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She said in a statement, “The agreement recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Greenland and Denmark and supports the right of the two peoples to self-determination.”
Upon his return to the White House last year, Trump called on Denmark to sell the island to the United States, while insisting that Greenland was important to US security. He clearly does not rule out seizing the island by military force, even though Denmark is a NATO member of the United States
Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly said the island is not for sale and have condemned reports that the United States is gathering intelligence there. Russia and a large part of Europe also oppose the American approach to Greenland.
But Trump indicated in his social media post on Friday that an understanding might be reached that could end what Denmark saw as an existential crisis.
“We look forward to working with the wonderful people of Denmark and Greenland to achieve a wonderful future regarding this large and very strategic piece of land,” Trump said in his post. “We’ll be very protective of him!”
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