Denmark says US resource exploration in Greenland must comply with island’s laws
Denmark’s foreign ministry said a September security agreement gives US investors no special resource rights in Greenland after Trump announced plans for exploration.
Copenhagen, Denmark. Denmark’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that any US exploration of Greenland’s natural resources must comply with the island’s legislation. It said the three-party agreement reached last month had not altered that requirement.
Security agreement grants no resource rights
The ministry said in a statement that US investors received no preferential access to Greenland’s natural resources over investors from NATO members, EU states or NATO partner countries.
The September agreement between Denmark, Greenland and the US permits an expanded American military presence on the island. It provided no mining or drilling rights and had appeared to resolve the confrontation over Greenland.
Trump announces exploration plans
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that large-scale exploration for oil, gas and minerals was about to start in Greenland, despite the territory’s resistance to his attempts to gain control and its prohibition on new crude-oil drilling.
In a Truth Social post celebrating what he portrayed as American gains under the September security deal, Trump called the Danish Arctic island “our new and beautiful Greenland”. The territory has a semi-autonomous government.
“Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin,” he wrote.
Trump also said unnamed experts believed Greenland’s readily accessible oil exceeded that of almost any other land area worldwide. He identified neither specific agreements nor particular development projects.
Greenland authorities withhold comment
The office of Greenland’s prime minister declined to comment on Trump’s remarks. The island’s ministry of mineral resources did not immediately answer requests for comment.
Since 2019, Trump has argued that the US should purchase or take control of the strategically situated, mineral-rich island on security grounds. He has repeatedly declined to exclude the use of force, drawing Greenland into a confrontation with him.
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