Denmark, Greenland and the United States are expected to sign an agreement on Greenland’s security on Tuesday 22 September 2026. Copenhagen says it will place Arctic protection under NATO’s broader responsibility, rather than limiting it to arrangements between Denmark and the United States.
The agreement is due to be signed on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York at 10:30 a.m. local time, or 14:30 GMT. A White House official said US President Donald Trump would meet Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen to take part in a trilateral signing ceremony.
The official added that the three leaders would formalise their new agreement, aimed at ensuring and defending the security of Greenland and the United States. After signing, the agreement will undergo the necessary national parliamentary procedures before taking effect. Its text has not been published, while the parties involved have offered differing descriptions of its scope.
Trump and Denmark offer differing accounts of agreement
Trump said the arrangements would give the United States “permanent control” over security and other needs in Greenland, and that no rival of Washington’s would be able to establish a base or military presence on the island without US written approval. Denmark and Greenland, by contrast, said the agreement would benefit the island and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of Greenland’s people to self-determination.
Frederiksen said the expected arrangements would strengthen shared security in the Arctic and North Atlantic, and would also serve the interests of NATO and Europe. Nielsen said the agreement would ensure and strengthen the security of Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, the United States and the Western alliance, adding that it recognised Greenland’s interests and standing in international co-operation and would benefit all parties.
Copenhagen pushes for NATO responsibility in the Arctic
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the agreement would be framed so that responsibility for Arctic security would not rest solely with Denmark or the United States. NATO, he added, would largely oversee security affairs in the polar region.
Rasmussen, who travelled to New York, declined to disclose details of the agreement, but said his country had made clear from the outset that it was prepared to take the United States’ legitimate security interests into account. He had expressed hope that the agreement would end a period of uncertainty and strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic, as well as shared security within the alliance and Europe, while respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark.
NATO welcomes stronger Arctic co-operation
A NATO spokesperson welcomed the agreement, saying it would help strengthen security, stability and co-operation in this vital region. It comes as the alliance has expanded its presence and activities in the Arctic and launched Arctic Sentry in February 2026 to strengthen its capabilities for deterrence, defence and operations in the region.
It remains unclear whether the new agreement will amend the 1951 defence agreement, which provides the legal basis for the US military presence in Greenland.
US defence agreements shape Greenland’s historical trajectory
Ulrik Pram Gad, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said the developments appeared to be an attempt to use the crisis to strengthen NATO cohesion through Greenland. He ruled out Denmark and Greenland approving the agreement if the new pact did not remain linked to the alliance. US strategic interests in Greenland date back to the Second World War.
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1941 agreement: The US agreed with Danish envoy Henrik Kauffmann to prevent Germany taking Greenland and secure the North Atlantic supply route. It later built facilities there; Truman offered $100m in gold in 1946, but Copenhagen refused.
In 1941, the United States concluded an agreement with Danish envoy Henrik Kauffmann, who acted without authorisation from his country, then under German control, to prevent the island from falling into German hands and secure the North Atlantic supply route between North America and Europe.
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US facilities and bases
Under the agreement, the United States built airfields, naval facilities and weather stations across Greenland, and its military personnel there reached about 5,500 by 1943. In 1946, US President Harry Truman sought to buy the island for $100 million in gold, but Copenhagen rejected the offer.
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New defence arrangements
A new agreement in 1951 granted the US military extensive rights in Greenland and linked the defence arrangements to NATO membership. During the Cold War, the United States operated 17 military facilities on the island and deployed more than 10,000 personnel there, while its current facilities are limited to Pituffik Space Base, which hosts about 150 US service members.
The expected agreement follows months of pressure from Trump, who said the United States should control Greenland and on some occasions did not rule out using military or economic force to take over the Danish territory, which has extensive self-government.
Tensions peaked in January, triggering a diplomatic crisis within NATO and prompting Denmark and Greenland to negotiate with Washington. Copenhagen had acknowledged that it had underinvested in Greenland’s defence for decades, and pledged to expand its military presence on the island and increase NATO participation.
The Greenlandic government, for its part, sought to reassure residents. Opposition MP Erik Jensen said he had seen a draft of the agreement and felt reassured and unconcerned, adding that the island’s foreign minister was handling the matter well.
