Denmark, Greenland and the United States have reached a security agreement on Greenland after months of negotiations. DR reports that the deal is expected to be signed next week in New York.
The agreement closes a dispute that long appeared impossible to resolve. According to DR, the breakthrough followed very difficult talks between the three parties. DR’s correspondent in the United States, Kim Bildsøe Lassen, said the process nearly broke down many times.
Negotiators on both sides believed at points that no deal would be reached, per the correspondent. He described the result as a diplomatic solution to a conflict driven by President Donald Trump. Denmark found it hard to oppose American wishes, he said.
The agreement is expected to be signed by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, the chairman of Naalakkersuisut, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and Trump. The signing is planned for next week, in connection with the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Contents not yet public
The public has not seen the text, so the concrete content is unknown. It is also unclear when the agreement enters into force. The parties characterize it as a security agreement addressing both American and NATO concerns in the area, per DR.
Sources Bildsøe Lassen has spoken with indicate there is apparently nothing in the deal that Denmark or Greenland cannot live with. He called that outcome quite remarkable. Danish and Greenlandic red lines on sovereignty, and on Greenlanders deciding over their own land, were apparently met.
Trump first voiced a wish to buy Greenland in 2019. In December 2024 he wrote on Truth Social that ownership and control of Greenland was an absolute necessity for the United States.
In January 2025 he wrote that people in Greenland would benefit greatly if and when the island became part of his country. Exactly one year later, in January 2026, Danish soldiers were transported to Greenland. The deployment was intended as preparation in case American forces attacked the island.
DR revealed that the Danish soldiers brought extra blood supplies and explosives. The explosives were meant to destroy runways in Nuuk and Kangerlussuaq. That would prevent American military aircraft from landing troops on the island.
Protests were held in Greenland several times over Trump’s plans to own the island. Bildsøe Lassen said the situation potentially endangered the entire Western and NATO cooperation. He described the agreement as one of the biggest stories of his working life.
NATO countries sent soldiers to Greenland several times as a symbolic signal, according to the correspondent. The message was that they would help defend Denmark and Greenland in a conflict with the United States. For many in Greenland and Denmark, the deal is a very large relief, he said.
