President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen put their names to a security agreement on 22 September 2026, ending a long dispute over the future of the Arctic island. The signing took place at United Nations headquarters in New York.
The deal confirms Greenland as part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It also lets the United States build two new military bases, one near Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland and one at Mestersvig on the east coast. Sky News reported the terms. The text amends and adds to the existing 1951 Greenland Defense Agreement.
What each leader said
Trump called the signing an exceptionally important event for Europe and the United States. Frederiksen said the agreement would strengthen shared security and deter adversaries, and that none of them would be able to gain control of the island or influence over it. Nielsen said the document takes account of the rights and interests of Greenland’s people and renews the region’s commitment to the Western alliance.
The road to a compromise
Before the signing, the United States and Denmark had reached a compromise that closed a period of instability. Trump’s wish to gain control of the semi-autonomous territory had set it off. He said at the time that the arrangement would “cost the United States nothing” and would give him the ability to “do whatever is necessary to protect and secure Greenland.”
One clause bars rival powers. Under the arrangements, no country that competes with the United States may have a military presence on the island, or invest in it, without written permission from Washington.
Frederiksen had said the deal would be signed in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s high-level week. After that, it goes to the Danish parliament for ratification.
Sources
- US Denmark and Greenland Sign Deal to Expand Military Presence in the Arctic
- 2026 US–Denmark–Greenland agreement
