The United States will establish two new military bases in Greenland under a landmark security agreement with Denmark and the Arctic island’s government, expanding Washington’s military footprint while leaving the strategically vital territory under Danish sovereignty.
President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed the agreement Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York after months of negotiations triggered by Trump’s repeated calls for U.S. control of Greenland.
The 10-page agreement allows Washington to establish new defense areas at Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland and Mestersvig on the island’s east coast, with operational and technical details to be negotiated by the three parties.
The accord also allows the United States to modernize and expand operations at Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, currently the main U.S. military installation on the island.
“We will immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate locations,” Trump told the U.N. General Assembly earlier Tuesday, saying the United States would build “two very major military bases.”
Trump later described the agreement as beneficial to the United States, Europe and Greenland.
“This is tremendous for Europe and for the United States and for everybody,” he said before the signing. “And for Greenland, it’s going to be incredible.”
The deal marks a significant expansion of the U.S. military presence in Greenland, where Washington maintained thousands of troops across 17 bases and installations after World War II. That footprint has since shrunk to roughly 200 personnel at Pituffik, which supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations.
Under the new agreement, U.S. forces will also receive broad mobility rights across Greenland, including undersea access. Washington may establish additional defense areas if agreed by the parties.
The accord bars countries outside NATO from establishing permanent manned or unmanned military installations on Greenland unless the signatories agree otherwise, reflecting growing Western concerns over Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic.
Contracts connected to the construction, maintenance or dismantling of U.S. facilities are to be awarded to Greenlandic suppliers to the maximum extent possible.
The agreement has no fixed expiration date. If Greenland eventually becomes independent from Denmark, the accord calls for it to remain within NATO and assume Denmark’s rights and obligations under the arrangement.
The signing seeks to defuse one of the most contentious disputes between Washington and its European allies during Trump’s second term.
Trump had repeatedly argued that the United States needed Greenland for national and international security and previously refused to rule out taking control of the territory. Those comments alarmed Copenhagen and Nuuk and strained relations inside NATO.
Frederiksen had warned that any attempt to seize Greenland would threaten the foundations of the trans-Atlantic alliance.
Tuesday’s agreement instead preserves the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark while substantially increasing the U.S. security role on the island, according to the Danish government.
Frederiksen welcomed the agreement as a long-term solution that strengthens both Arctic security and NATO.
“Mr. President, you have been very clear: You don’t want adversaries to come too close,” she said. “I fully agree.”
Nielsen described the accord as a “win-win-win agreement,” stressing the shared security interests of Greenland, Denmark and the United States.
“Your security is our security,” he told Trump, “and our security is your security.”
Greenland’s strategic importance has grown as competition intensifies across the Arctic. Roughly two-thirds of the island lies within the Arctic Circle, where retreating sea ice has increased access to shipping routes and heightened interest in the region’s mineral resources.
The island’s location between North America and Europe also makes it crucial to NATO’s northern defenses.
The agreement gives Washington a larger military presence without transferring sovereignty over Greenland, offering the three governments a way out of a months-long diplomatic standoff while placing Arctic security more firmly within NATO’s broader defense framework.
