Greenland, Denmark say deal with U.S. will not cede sovereignty

Greenland, Denmark say deal with U.S. will not cede sovereignty

Agreement follows months of tension over Trump's threats to seize Greenland

Denmark and Greenland on Saturday said any agreement with the United States would not compromise Greenland's sovereignty, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the deal would give Washington "permanent control" over the Arctic island's security, leaving its precise scope unclear.

The U.S., Denmark and Greenland said late on Friday they had entered into an agreement for the U.S. to ‌develop a significant military presence on Greenland, while prohibiting American adversaries from building their own bases on the island.

Key details of the agreement have not been made public, including the degree of U.S. military presence in the self-governed ⁠Danish territory and whether any formal power over foreign policy and resources would be ceded to Washington.

Denmark and Greenland expressed hope that a deal, which is expected to be signed during the United Nations General Assembly next week, would end months of uncertainty triggered by Trump's threats to seize control of Greenland. Parliamentary action is still needed by the governments of Denmark and Greenland before it can be enforced.

"Next week could be a good week — for Greenland, Denmark, and the United States," Danish Foreign Affairs Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in a statement posted on Facebook on Saturday.

Trump says deal struck to boost U.S. military presence in Greenland

"A time of uncertainty will hopefully give way to a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic, and thereby our shared security within NATO and Europe — while respecting the [Danish] Kingdom's red lines," Rasmussen said.

Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly insisted that Washington respect the sovereignty of the Danish kingdom and accept that Greenland is not for sale.

Trump said on his Truth Social platform late on Friday that under a deal, "the United States will FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the security of Greenland, and the United States of America."

The deal "gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland," he said, adding that no adversary would ever be permitted to have a base or military presence in Greenland, or make sensitive investments there, without Washington's express written approval.

Deal struck to boost U.S. military presence in Greenland: Trump

Trump made the announcement after Reuters exclusively reported that the U.S. and Denmark were closing in on a deal.

"This is probably not the end of President Trump’s ambitions for Greenland and certainly not the end of U.S. strategic interest in the territory and its resources," said Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen, a political science professor at the University of Copenhagen, in Denmark's capital.

If the Danish government cedes any formal power to Washington, it raises the question in Greenland of whether "this is the beginning of replacing the colonial relationship with Denmark with a colonial relationship to the United States," he said.

"I am pleased on Greenland's behalf that we are nearing the conclusion of an agreement — an agreement that benefits not only our collective security but also the continued development of this country," Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland's prime minister, said on Saturday in a post on Facebook.

"The agreement recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our Kingdom and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination."

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Trump's threats, which peaked in January, triggered a diplomatic crisis that strained relations within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and pushed Denmark and Greenland into negotiations aimed at defusing the pressure.

A NATO spokesperson on Saturday said the alliance welcomed the agreement, which would "help advance security, stability and co-operation in this vital region."

Steffen Nielsen, a 49-year-old sales worker living in Copenhagen, told Reuters: "I think that the U.S. is probably going to get what they could have had the whole time, if they just asked nicely."

"I don't like it," Kaj Jorgensen, an 80-year-old pensioner, also living in Copenhagen, said of the news. "I don't wish the United States to be present anywhere in the Danish Kingdom. I really don't trust Donald Trump."