Trump claims ‘total’ U.S. access to Greenland under NATO framework; Denmark insists sovereignty not up for discussion
U.S. President Donald Trump said he has secured “total and permanent” American access to Greenland under a framework discussed with NATO, even as Denmark and Greenland stressed that sovereignty over the Arctic island is not on the table and European leaders vowed to step up regional security.
- Advertisement -
News of the nascent deal emerged as Trump backed off tariff threats against Europe and ruled out taking Greenland by force, offering a measure of respite in what had been shaping up as a major rupture in transatlantic ties.
Details remain unclear. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said a new arrangement was being negotiated that would be “much more generous to the United States, so much more generous.” He skirted questions about sovereignty but added, “We have to have the ability to do exactly what we want to do.” Earlier, he told Fox Business Network the deal would bring “total access” for the United States. “There’s no end, there’s no time limit,” he said.
Denmark, which oversees Greenland as a semi-autonomous territory, pushed back. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said no negotiations had been held with NATO about Greenland’s sovereignty. “It is still a difficult and serious situation, but progress has also been made in the sense that we have now got things where they need to be. Namely that we can discuss how we promote common security in the Arctic region,” she said. Later, ahead of an emergency summit of EU leaders, she called for a “permanent presence of NATO in the Arctic region, including around Greenland.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed Trump’s comments but said he remained in the dark on key specifics. “I don’t know what there is in the agreement, or the deal, about my country,” he told reporters in Nuuk. “We cannot cross the red lines. We have to respect our territorial integrity. We have to respect international law and sovereignty.”
European leaders signaled a broader Arctic recalibration in response. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU had underinvested in Arctic security and now must “step up,” adding that EU leaders proposed to “double” financial support for Greenland. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said U.S.-EU relations had “taken a big blow” in the past week, but emphasized that disputes among allies only benefit adversaries.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed a pathway for talks, saying it is now up to NATO’s senior commanders to work through added security requirements. “I have no doubt we can do this quite fast. Certainly, I would hope for 2026, I hope even early in 2026,” he said in Davos.
A person familiar with the discussions said Trump and Rutte agreed to further talks between the United States, Denmark and Greenland on updating a 1951 agreement governing U.S. military access and presence on the island. That framework also calls for prohibiting Chinese and Russian investments in Greenland, the person said. A second source cautioned that what exists is “a frame on which to build,” and that reports of specific provisions are speculative.
After meeting Rutte, Trump said a deal could satisfy his desire for a “Golden Dome” missile-defense system and access to critical minerals while blocking what he described as Russian and Chinese ambitions in the Arctic. Rutte said minerals exploitation was not discussed with Trump, and that specific negotiations would continue among Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk.
The 1951 U.S.-Denmark agreement established America’s right to construct bases and move freely in Greenlandic territory, provided Denmark and Greenland are informed. The United States operates a base at Pituffik in northern Greenland.
As allies sought to lower the temperature, officials in Helsinki and London said they were prepared to contribute to a stronger Arctic posture. Finnish President Alexander Stubb expressed hope for a security plan by a NATO summit in Ankara in July, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Rutte the U.K. stands ready to play its part.
Trump’s aircraft made a brief refueling stop in Shannon, Ireland, en route back from Davos.
What happens next will hinge on whether Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk can translate a headline-grabbing claim of “total access” into an updated legal framework that safeguards sovereignty concerns while bolstering NATO’s hand in a rapidly strategic Arctic.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
