In short
- The United States and Denmark announced a security agreement on Greenland on 18 September 2026, which Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said would be signed at the United Nations General Assembly.
- US President Donald Trump said the deal grants the US “permanent control over security, and all other needs” in Greenland at “no cost to the United States”.
- An unnamed US State Department official said the agreement would not expire even if Greenland became an independent country, and that it bans non-Nato countries from building bases there.
- More than 100 US military personnel are permanently stationed at the Pituffik base at the north-western tip of Greenland.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the agreement a “historic deal” and a “huge win for the United States and the American people”.
The United States and Denmark announced on 18 September 2026 a security agreement covering Greenland, after months of threats by President Donald Trump to take the semi-autonomous Danish territory. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the deal would be signed at the United Nations General Assembly the following week. No text of the agreement has been released.
What did Donald Trump say about the deal?
Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the agreement would grant the US “permanent control over security, and all other needs” and came with “no cost to the United States”. He said it gave Washington the ability “to do what is necessary” to “secure and defend the security of Greenland”, and included a rule that no US adversary could maintain a military presence in Greenland or “make sensitive investments in Greenland, without our express written approval”. Trump, who has separately dismissed AI safety fears as a “hoax”, had argued for months that the mineral-rich territory was vulnerable to adversaries including Russia and China.
What did Denmark and Greenland say?
Mette Frederiksen said the agreement “strengthens our common security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic area” while “at the same time recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination”. She said the deal needed legislators’ approval and would “have to go through the necessary parliamentary procedures to enter into force”. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, chairman of the Greenland Government, said it was “gratifying that we are about to enter into an agreement that ensures and strengthens the security” of Greenland, Denmark and the US, adding that it “recognises Greenland’s interests and our place in international co-operation”.
What has been disclosed about the terms?
Without the official text, it is unclear how the deal differs from a 1951 agreement with Denmark under which the US can send as many troops as it wants to Greenland. An unnamed US State Department official said the new deal would not expire even if Greenland became an independent country, gives the US unilateral power to build additional military structures without approval from Greenland or Denmark, and includes “permanent access, basing and overflights rights”. The official said it bans non-Nato countries from building bases and blocks Russia and China from deploying troops or investing in “sensitive sectors”. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, called it a “historic deal” and a “huge win for the United States and the American people”.
What is at stake in Greenland?
More than 100 US military personnel are permanently stationed at the Pituffik base at the north-western tip of Greenland. Trump says the island is essential to his plan for a Golden Dome defence system designed to protect the US from missile attacks by Russia and China, and that European allies could co-operate. Greenland holds vast, largely untapped reserves of rare earth minerals used in technologies including mobile phones and electric vehicles. Trump’s earlier threats to purchase or annex the territory prompted an outcry from Danes and other Nato countries. Arctic and North Atlantic security has drawn wider attention in Europe, with Ursula von der Leyen backing a plan for Canada to become an EU “associate member”.
Frequently asked questions
What does the US-Denmark agreement on Greenland cover?
No text has been released, but an unnamed US State Department official said it gives the US permanent access, basing and overflights rights, unilateral power to build military structures, and bans non-Nato countries from building bases in Greenland.
Does the deal need approval before it takes effect?
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the agreement still needed legislators’ approval and would have to go through the necessary parliamentary procedures to enter into force.
When will the US-Denmark Greenland deal be signed?
Mette Frederiksen said the agreement would be signed at the United Nations General Assembly the week after it was announced on 18 September 2026.
How many US troops are stationed in Greenland?
More than 100 US military personnel are permanently stationed at the Pituffik base, at the north-western tip of Greenland, under a 1951 agreement with Denmark.
With reporting from BBC News.
Stock image, not from the events described. Globe World — Jo%E3o%20Silas / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)