President Donald Trump said Friday the United States has reached an agreement with Denmark and Greenland granting Washington “permanent control over security, and all other needs” on the Arctic island, following months of tension in which he had repeatedly declined to rule out taking the territory by force.
“At my direction, we worked with representatives of Denmark and Greenland to guarantee that the United States will 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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, describing it as an “Infinite Life” agreement reached at “NO COST” to Washington.
Trump said the deal bars adversarial nations from establishing military bases or stationing personnel in Greenland without written US authorization, and that his administration would “immediately” begin building up a larger US military presence on the mineral-rich Danish territory, working with local Greenlanders on its development.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pushed back on the characterization, saying the agreement does not give the US sovereignty over Greenland. She described it instead as a pact that “strengthens our common security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic area” and benefits NATO and Europe, while affirming it “recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.
Denmark, Greenland and the US are expected to formally sign the agreement next week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, though it still requires approval from the Danish and Greenlandic parliaments before taking effect.
The deal marks a turning point in a monthslong standoff during which Trump insisted Greenland should become part of the United States and left open the possibility of seizing it militarily — a stance that alarmed NATO allies and drew condemnation from Denmark, Greenland, Russia and much of Europe, all of whom maintained the island was “not for sale.”
