Trump seals Greenland defence deal
United Nations, Sep 23 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) US President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed a new defence agreement, updating a 1951 pact and expanding security cooperation in the strategically important Arctic region.
Trump described the agreement as the result of a long effort and said it would strengthen ties among the United States, Denmark and Greenland.
“We’re going to have a tremendous relationship, a secure relationship, and we look forward to it,” Trump said at the trilateral signing ceremony.
“This was long in the making,” he said. “Some really wanted to make a deal and never got done, but we’re getting it done.”
Trump said the agreement would be “tremendous for Europe and for the United States and for everybody,” adding that it would be “incredible” for Greenland.
Frederiksen called the agreement a milestone in Denmark’s longstanding cooperation with the United States.
“75 years ago, we entered into an agreement about the defense of Greenland. Today, we are signing an even bigger and better agreement, a deal that can last forever,” she said.
The Danish leader said the pact would strengthen security and deterrence while preventing adversaries from gaining a foothold in Greenland.
“We are making sure that they will not be allowed to get any control or significant influence in Greenland,” Frederiksen said. “And we are making sure that more allies are present in the Arctic at the same time.”
She said the agreement recognised the historical and continuing US contribution to the defence of Greenland and the North Atlantic Treaty area. It also respected the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland’s right to self-determination, she said.
Frederiksen framed the pact as part of a broader effort to reinforce NATO at a time of heightened geopolitical tension.
“If we let ourselves be divided as allies, then we do our foes a favor,” she said. “We will do everything we can to prevent that from happening.”
Nielsen said the agreement brought the 1951 defence pact “into 2026” and ensured that Greenland was directly involved in decisions affecting its territory and people.
“And for Greenland, this is not only an agreement about us, it is an agreement with us,” he said. “It takes into account the people of Greenland, our rights, our livelihoods, and the development of our country.”
Nielsen said Greenland had played an important security role during the Second World War and the Cold War and had continued to support US homeland security.
He also stressed Greenland’s commitment to NATO and the Western alliance as security competition in the Arctic intensifies.
“This agreement should put to rest any doubt today and in the future about where Greenland’s loyalty lies,” Nielsen said. “We are, have been and will remain a steadfast friend of the United States and a part of the Western Alliance.”
Nielsen called the pact “a win-win-win agreement” based on shared responsibility, mutual respect and the goal of maintaining a peaceful Arctic.
Trump did not directly answer a reporter who asked whether US ownership of Greenland was now off the table. Asked what message he had for Greenlanders, Trump replied: “I love the people of Greenland.” He added that they were “very well represented by their prime minister.”
The 1951 defence agreement between Washington and Copenhagen established the framework for a US military presence in Greenland. It was amended in 2004 through an agreement involving the United States, Denmark and Greenland.
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