This aerial view shows people as they take part in a demonstration that gathered almost a third of the city population to protest against the US President's plans to take Greenland, on January 17, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland. (ARCTIC CREATIVE / Mads Schmidt Rasmussen / AFP Photo)
Denmark has hailed a “binding” deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump to give Washington “permanent control” over Greenland’s security and bar Russian and Chinese bases from the Arctic territory.
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly insisted that the United States needed to control Greenland for strategic reasons, alarming NATO ally Denmark and sparking fierce pushback from the alliance.
Denmark and Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, both hailed the agreement and said they would sign it on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York next week.
“A long period of uncertainty will hopefully be replaced by a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and North Atlantic,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on social media.
The deal respected Denmark’s “red lines” and was “important” in light of a changed security situation, he said.
While the terms are still unclear, Denmark maintains that its sovereignty remains intact.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the agreement with Washington “recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.”
It was “good for NATO and Europe,” she said.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the deal “recognizes Greenland’s interests” and “strengthens” its security.
And French President Emmanuel Macron weighed in as well, saying the deal helps “to reaffirm Danish sovereignty” over the Arctic territory.
