US, Denmark and Greenland to sign agreement on expanded military presence
The United States, Denmark and Greenland are due to sign an agreement allowing an expanded US military presence on the Arctic island.
New York, United States. President Donald Trump is due to meet Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Tuesday to sign an agreement allowing a larger US military presence in Greenland.
The agreement could end a standoff over the strategically located, mineral-rich island after Trump’s comments on acquiring Greenland triggered a diplomatic crisis within NATO in January.
Military sites
The agreement will allow the United States to expand its military footprint in Greenland, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters.
Alongside the existing Pituffik Space Base, the deal is expected to open two new military sites at Narsarsuaq, a former Cold War airbase with a population of only a few dozen, and Mestersvig, which is currently used by the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite Danish special forces unit.
Greenland, a former colony and semi-autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, lies between the Arctic and North America and has extensive energy resources.
Signing ceremony
Trump, Frederiksen and Nielsen are scheduled to attend a trilateral signing ceremony at the UN General Assembly in New York at 10:30 a.m. ET, or 1430 GMT.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has said the agreement would place Arctic security under NATO’s collective oversight rather than leaving it solely to Washington and Copenhagen.
Trump said on Friday that the deal would give the United States “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland.” Denmark has not responded to the assertion but has said the agreement respects the kingdom’s sovereignty and Greenland’s right to self-determination.
Unpublished text
Frederiksen said in New York on Monday that the agreement was possible because it concerned security policy and was beneficial to Greenland, the United States, Europe and the Kingdom of Denmark.
The text of the agreement has not been published ahead of the signing. It remains unclear whether it will amend the 1951 defence treaty that has provided the legal basis for the US presence or establish a new framework.
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