Greenland, Denmark Say US Deal Will Not Cede Sovereignty as Trump Claims 'Permanent Control' Over It

Denmark and Greenland said on Saturday that a US deal expanding Washington's military role on Greenland would not compromise the island's sovereignty. Their assurances followed President Donald Trump's claim that the agreement would give the United States 'permanent control' over security and other needs in the self-governing Danish territory.

For context, the United States, Denmark and Greenland said late on Friday that they had entered into an agreement allowing a significant US military presence on Greenland. The arrangement would also prohibit American adversaries from building bases on the Arctic island.

The deal is expected to be signed during next week's UN General Assembly. Its full terms have not been made public, leaving unanswered questions about the extent of the planned US presence and whether Washington would receive any formal power over foreign policy or Greenland's resources.

Greenland Sovereignty Sets Denmark's Red Line

Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly insisted that the United States must respect the sovereignty of the Danish kingdom. They have also maintained that Greenland is not for sale.

Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen expressed hope that the agreement would end months of uncertainty caused by Trump's threats to seize control of Greenland. 'Next week could be a good week - for Greenland, Denmark, and the United States,' he said in a statement posted on Facebook on Saturday.

Rasmussen said a binding agreement could strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic, as well as within NATO and Europe. Crucially, he said any arrangement must respect the Danish kingdom's red lines.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen also welcomed the proposed agreement. 'The agreement recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our Kingdom and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination,' he wrote on Facebook.

Those statements establish the position of Denmark and Greenland. They do not, however, resolve the gap between their assurances and Trump's description of what Washington has secured. With the text still unpublished, the precise scope of the deal cannot yet be confirmed.

Trump Claims 'Permanent Control' In Greenland

Trump said on Truth Social late on Friday that the United States would '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.'

He also said the deal gave Washington 'permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland'. According to Trump, no adversary would be permitted to establish a base or military presence, or make sensitive investments there, without written approval from the United States.

Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen, a political science professor at the University of Copenhagen, said the agreement was unlikely to mark the end of Trump's ambitions for Greenland or wider US interest in the territory and its resources.

He said that if Copenhagen ceded any formal power to Washington, Greenlanders could ask whether they were witnessing 'the beginning of replacing the colonial relationship with Denmark with a colonial relationship to the United States'. Whether the final agreement creates any such transfer remains unknown.

Greenland Deal Draws Uneasy Reaction

Trump's threats, which peaked in January, triggered a diplomatic crisis and strained relations within NATO. Denmark and Greenland subsequently entered negotiations aimed at easing that pressure.

A NATO spokesperson welcomed the agreement on Saturday, saying it would 'help advance security, stability and cooperation in this vital region'.

Reaction in Copenhagen was less comfortable. Steffen Nielsen, a 49-year-old sales worker, said the United States was probably going to receive what it could have obtained 'if they just asked nicely'.

Kaj Jorgensen, an 80-year-old pensioner, was more direct. 'I don't like it,' he said. 'I don't wish the United States to be present anywhere in the Danish Kingdom. I really don't trust Donald Trump.'