Greenland security deal largely preserves 1950s US access

A new US security agreement with Denmark and Greenland appears to bring few changes to an existing arrangement dating back to the 1950s, DR reports. The assessment comes from Peter Viggo Jakobsen, a lecturer at the Danish Defence Academy.

Since 8 June 1951, the United States has had an agreement allowing its military to move freely in Greenland, provided that the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark is not diminished.

The United States is now ready to sign a new agreement on security in the Arctic with Denmark and Greenland. Although the details are not yet known, the agreement does not appear to contain major changes compared with the existing one, Jakobsen said.

“Congratulations, Trump. Now you have what you have had since the 1950s, when the base agreement was signed,” he said.

Jakobsen described President Donald Trump’s conduct throughout the Greenland process as “more theatre than genuine military concerns”.

Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that the agreement would give the United States “permanent control over the security and all other needs in Greenland and fully addresses ALL of our many American concerns”.

“The fact that the Americans are presenting it as a victory is something he has to do, because otherwise what he had done would have made no sense at all,” Jakobsen said.

He said the agreement was nevertheless positive for NATO because it could help calm the dispute over Greenland and allow attention to return to what he described as a genuine threat: Russia.

“It is very good for NATO and the transatlantic relationship that we no longer have to send soldiers to Greenland to signal to the United States: ‘We will shoot at you if you come,’” he said.

Jakobsen was referring to Danish soldiers sent to Greenland at the beginning of the year to prepare for a possible US takeover of the territory.

“What happened in January was completely absurd, and in Moscow they were laughing themselves silly,” he said.

He assessed that neither Russia nor China would be capable of military activity around Greenland over the next 10 to 20 years.

“It would be good if we could now focus on our genuine military concerns around the Baltic Sea. We have challenges there. We do not have them up around Greenland,” he said.

The agreement between the United States, Greenland and Denmark is expected to be signed next week in New York, where the United Nations General Assembly is being held.

The details of the process remain unknown, but sources told DR that the signing will take place at a ceremony attended by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Greenlandic leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen and President Donald Trump.