Denmark, Greenland and the United States signed a security and defense agreement at the United Nations in New York on September 22, expanding American military access to Greenland without handing the island to Washington.
The deal was presented at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday afternoon. The Danish daily Information writes that the formal balance of power between the United States, Greenland and Denmark is largely unchanged. In a commentary, editor-in-chief Rune Lykkeberg argues that the political reality around that balance has shifted.
According to Reuters, the agreement was signed by US President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Reuters describes the signing as an attempt to end a months-long Arctic standoff over the island.
What the agreement contains
Reuters reports that the deal allows the United States to modernize and expand Pituffik Space Base. It also permits new American bases at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig. American aircraft and vessels are granted flyover, landing and undersea access rights across Greenland and its territorial waters.
A statement published by the White House says the text amends and supplements the defense agreement of April 27, 1951. Per the same statement, the agreement does not grant the United States ownership of Greenland. It has no stated end date.
The White House statement adds that the agreement enters into force once Denmark and Greenland complete the necessary parliamentary procedures. That means approval processes in both the Folketing and Inatsisartut remain outstanding.
Information notes that the 1951 agreement already allows the United States to build military bases and station soldiers in Greenland. Under that text, the Kingdom of Denmark is to be consulted and informed, but holds no veto. Lykkeberg writes that American access is therefore not much changed in objective terms.
Diverging assessments in Denmark
Information has also reported that several experts agree with Jens-Frederik Nielsen’s description of the deal as a win for all three parties. In separate coverage by the same newspaper, political scientist Ole Wæver said the agreement appears to contain elements of lost sovereignty for Greenland.
American Arctic analyst Marisol Maddox told Information that there was no reason to threaten Greenland’s sovereignty. She said it was decisive for the outcome that Trump’s threat was taken seriously rather than dismissed.
Lykkeberg’s commentary concludes that a text resembling a diplomatic victory on paper is experienced differently in Copenhagen and Nuuk. He describes the outcome as the result of negotiations conducted under threats of conquest. The agreement follows roughly two years of American pressure over the status of Greenland.
