Denmark’s leaders cautiously optimistic about Greenland announcement

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Greenland's government leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen visit Qoornoq, Greenland on Sept. 6, 2026. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, File)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Denmark’s government was cautiously optimistic on Saturday following Donald Trump’s announcement of a deal on Greenland to bolster U.S. military presence there but keep the island under Danish control after months of threats by the U.S. president to seize the semiautonomous territory of a NATO ally.

The Arctic island’s top leaders echoed that stance and said the deal, which has not yet been made public, was long in coming.

U.S., Greenlandic and Danish officials had quietly negotiated for months behind the scenes, searching for solutions to address some of Trump’s security concerns about the territory of roughly 56,000 residents. With the announcement of the pact, Trump is able to tout a foreign policy achievement ahead of the midterm elections in the United States.

Trump said Friday that the agreement would give the U.S. “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns.”

Denmark and the U.S. already have a long-standing security agreement that allows the U.S. to deploy forces in Greenland, and it was not immediately clear how this deal would be different from that.

“I think it’s obvious that we can expect more bases in Greenland. But it’s important to say that if we look in the past, especially during the Cold War, the U.S. had immense military presence in Greenland,” said Marc Jacobsen, an associate professor at the Royal Danish Defense College and the head of research at the Center for Arctic Security Studies.

He said it was a win for Trump. “It’s important for him to show that he’s a good businessman, that he kind of forced the pressure on Denmark and Greenland into something new.”

The deal is expected to be signed at the UN

After Trump’s announcement, the office of Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the deal will be signed next week at the United Nations General Assembly. Parliamentary action was still needed by the Danish and Greenlandic governments before it can be enforced, she added.

“Next week could be a good week … for Greenland, Denmark, and the United States alike,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen wrote on Instagram on Saturday morning.

“A period of uncertainty will hopefully be replaced by a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic -- and thus also our shared security within NATO and Europe,” he added.

Greenland’s government leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the deal would benefit “not only our collective security, but also the continued development here in the country.”

The island’s foreign minister, Mute B. Egede, said he was pleased “we now have an agreement within reach.”

“I’m pleased that we finally have an end product within reach,” he told Denmark’s TV2 broadcaster. “It’s about time.”

Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the NATO Military Committee, said later Saturday in the Danish capital that the agreement was “very, very welcome,” without commenting on it further.

Trump said that with the agreement, the U.S. would “immediately” begin the process of developing a larger military presence on the mineral-rich Danish territory.

The U.S. had held several bases and installations on Greenland through the Cold War, before dialing back its presence. It still operates the remote Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, built after the U.S. and Denmark signed the Defense of Greenland Treaty in 1951.

The base supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO.

Few details about the deal are known so far

A U.S. State Department official said the agreement bans any non-NATO base in Greenland, limits adversaries from being able to make investments in Greenland, and guarantees that China and Russia cannot have a base on the island. The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Denmark and Greenland did not explicitly confirm any of the specifics in Trump’s statements, nor did they provide more details.

After his return to the White House, Trump had called on Denmark to sell the island to the U.S., while insisting Greenland is crucial for U.S. security. He pointedly wouldn’t rule out taking the island by military force, even though Denmark is a NATO ally of the U.S.

Denmark and Greenland repeatedly said the island is not for sale and condemned reports of the U.S. gathering intelligence there. The U.S. push for Greenland was also fiercely opposed by Russia and much of Europe.

Greenland grassroots pro-sovereignty activist Orla Joelsen wrote on X that “our fight against Trump’s ambition to take over Greenland has been won.”

“The new agreement explicitly recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination,” the activist added.

Ulrik Pram Gad, a senior researcher and Arctic security expert at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said that Trump tries to sell it as a win. “He obviously didn’t get in this agreement what he originally set out to have that is sovereign control over all of Greenland as a part of the United States.”

Relief that a deal seems close

In Denmark, many expressed relief that a deal with the U.S. seemed close.

Michael Burgaard from Gentofte, north of Copenhagen, was hopeful the crisis was over “because just a fortnight ago, Donald Trump posted this map showing Greenland ... as part of the U.S.”

“We were kind of worried that he would take all of Greenland by force,” added the 56-year-old telecommunications worker. “So, the fact that we can settle this in a diplomatic way ... I think it’s good.”

Michael Frees, a 51-year-old high school teacher in Copenhagen, said he thinks the agreement is “the most realistic solution for us right now.”

“We are a small nation and of course we have to cooperate with bigger countries and also the European Union,” he said.

Grieshaber reported from Berlin.

James Brooks And Kirsten Grieshaber, The Associated Press