Donald Trump says he has secured total and permanent US access to Greenland in a deal with NATO that could involve other alliance members making greater military contributions to ward off threats from China and Russia.
News of a framework deal came as the US president backed off from tariff threats and ruled out taking Greenland by force, bringing a degree of respite to what was brewing as the biggest rupture to transatlantic ties in decades.
But the details of any agreement are unclear and Denmark insists its sovereignty over the island is not up for discussion.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, left, says members of the alliance will be asked to step up in the Arctic. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed Mr Trump’s latest comments but said he was still in the dark on many aspects.
“I don’t know what there is in the agreement, or the deal, about my country,” he told reporters in the capital, Nuuk.
Asked about reports Mr Trump wants control of areas around US military bases in Greenland as part of a wider deal, he said:
“We are ready to discuss a lot of things and we are ready to negotiate a better partnership and so on. But sovereignty is a red line.”What is the US Golden Dome?
“We cannot cross the red lines. We have to respect our territorial integrity. We have to respect international law and sovereignty.”
Mr Trump’s U-turn triggered a rebound in European markets but also raised questions about how much damage had already been done to transatlantic ties and business confidence.
“It’s really being negotiated now, the details of it. But essentially, it’s total access. It’s — there’s no end, there’s no time limit,” Mr Trump told Fox Business Network from Davos, Switzerland, where he is attending the World Economic Forum.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, also in Davos, told Reuters it was now up to NATO’s senior commanders to work through the details of extra security needs.
“I have no doubt we can do this quite fast. Certainly, I would hope, for 2026. I hope even early in 2026,” he said.
Denmark says situation remains difficult
Mr Trump’s ambition to wrest sovereignty over Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark has threatened to blow apart the alliance that has underpinned Western security since the end of World War II, and reignite a trade war with Europe.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said no negotiations had been held with NATO regarding the sovereignty of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.
“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,” Ms Frederiksen said.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says neither she nor Greenland’s prime minister were consulted before Donald Trump’s announcement. (Reuters: Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix)
Speaking later in Brussels ahead of an emergency summit of EU leaders, she called for a “permanent presence of NATO in the Arctic region, including around Greenland”.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who has a good working relationship with Mr Trump, said he hoped allies could put together a plan to boost Arctic security by a NATO summit in Ankara in July.
After meeting with NATO’s Mr Rutte, Mr Trump said there could be a deal that satisfied his desire for a “Golden Dome” missile-defence system and access to critical minerals while blocking what he says are Russia’s and China’s ambitions in the Arctic.
Mr Rutte said minerals exploitation was not discussed during his meeting with Mr Trump, adding that specific negotiations over the Arctic island would continue between the United States, Denmark and Greenland itself.
A 1951 agreement between Washington and Copenhagen established a US right to construct military bases in Greenland and move freely in Greenlandic territory.
This is still the case, as long as Denmark and Greenland are informed of its actions. Washington has a base at Pittufik, northern Greenland.
“First of all, it is important to clarify that the US had 17 bases during the Cold War and much greater activity. So that is already possible now under the current agreement,” said Marc Jacobsen, an associate professor at the Royal Danish Defence College.
“I think there will be concrete discussions about [the] Golden Dome and I think there will be concrete discussions about Russia and China not being welcome in Greenland.”
Greenlanders confused about prospectsÂ
However, diplomats told Reuters that European Union leaders will rethink relations with the US as the Greenland episode has badly shaken confidence in the transatlantic relationship.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said ties between the US and European nations had “taken a big blow” in the past week.
She also urged countries to renew a focus on the Ukraine war, which has been raging for almost four years.
EU governments remain wary of another change of mind from the US president, who is increasingly seen as a bully Europe will have to stand up to.
Residents in Nuuk were also wary.
“I think it’s all very confusing,” said pensioner Jesper Muller.
“One hour we are, well, almost at war. Next hour everything is fine and beautiful and I think it’s very hard to imagine that you can build anything on it.”