The United States, Denmark and Greenland enter
into an agreement for the US to develop a significant military
presence on the largest non-continental island,
according to US President Donald Trump.
Denmark says parliamentary action is still needed by
the Danish and Greenland governments before
the deal can be enforced.
In a Truth Social post, US President Donald Trump
says he has come to an agreement with Denmark and Greenland that
will allow Americans to expand its military presence in the latter.
He says the deal takes American presence in the area one step further by
prohibiting adversaries from
investing militarily on Greenland without the approval of the
US and that the agreement had no expiry date.
The deal will leave the island in Denmark's hands.
"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 writes.
Without elaborating on specific actions, he adds with the agreement,
his administration would "immediately"
begin the process of developing a larger military presence on
the mineral-rich Danish territory.
The office of Denmark's prime minister, Mette Frederiksen,
says the deal will be
signed by all three governments next week
during the United Nations General Assembly,
but parliamentary action is still needed by the Danish and Greenland
governments before it can be enforced.
The office furthers the agreement would strengthen North Atlantic
and Arctic security.
It's unclear how the agreement would be received in
Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
The island's residents aspire to independence and have
frowned upon US attempts to assert hegemony.
This latest agreement stops short of Trump's long-held dream
of acquiring the island for the United States, which has
been faced with strong opposition by the islanders.
Trump's announcement suggests he was nonetheless
pleased with the outcome of the negotiations,
going as far as calling this agreement "a dream come true for
the United States of America," and that he will
not revive his territorial claims, at least in the near future.
The US already has nearly total overflight and basing rights
in Greenland due to a 1951 treaty and it currently has
one Space Force base in its remote northwest.
In a bid to gain access to Greenland, Trump made repeated claims
of threats against the US from what he claimed as
Chinese and Russian military forces that
are lurking off the island's coastline.

