Denmark, Greenland and the United States signed a security agreement in New York on September 22, 2026, and Danish ministers described the talks that led to it as intense and difficult.
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called the deal historic, speaking from a terrace in New York to DR correspondent Kim Bildsøe Lassen. He said it was one of those days when political work feels like it makes a small difference.
The document was signed at the 81st UN General Assembly by US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s premier, Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Greenland’s foreign affairs minister, Múte B. Egede, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio were also present, per DR.
Løkke Rasmussen told DR that an agreement became possible because the Americans changed course during what he called a very intense process. He said a direct translation of the president’s more maximalist statements on Truth Social would have made any deal impossible.
What the agreement contains
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Statsministeriet, the pact does not take effect until the necessary Danish and Greenlandic parliamentary procedures are completed. The White House states that it amends and supplements the 1951 defense agreement on Greenland.
Reuters reports that the text permits the United States to establish bases at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig and to expand activities at Pituffik Space Base. US aircraft and vessels also receive broad overflight, landing and undersea access rights in Greenland and its territorial waters.
Reuters adds that the agreement supports a stronger NATO presence in the Arctic, while Denmark commits to strengthening its own regional security posture. The news agency notes there is no specified troop timetable and no end date in the text.
Reuters further reports that the agreement says Greenland’s right to independence is respected, and provides for Greenland to remain in NATO should it become independent. Løkke Rasmussen told DR that this point was significant, calling it the recognition of the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.
Reactions
Frederiksen told DR that she was glad, proud and relieved, and that Greenland had been under enormous pressure. She pointed to Denmark’s role in NATO and its dependence on continued cooperation between the United States and Europe.
The White House wrote on Instagram that it was a historic day for the United States and national security. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called the signing fantastic on X, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the deal on the same platform.
Von der Leyen wrote that her visit to Greenland earlier in September underlined the region’s strategic importance and the scale of the challenges ahead. DR reports that a journalist asked Trump after the ceremony whether ownership of Greenland was now off the table, and that he did not answer.
