The United States will build two military bases in southern and eastern Greenland under a wide-ranging security agreement signed Tuesday between the United States, Greenland and Denmark on Tuesday.
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly insisted that the US needed to control Greenland for strategic reasons, alarming NATO ally Denmark and sparking fierce pushback from the alliance.
On Tuesday, Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk signed a 10-page agreement in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, giving the US control over security in Denmark's autonomous Arctic territory.
Under the deal -- which reaffirmed "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark" and recognised Greenland's "right to self-determination" -- Washington will establish military bases in Narsarsuaq in the south of the island and Mestersvig in the east, in addition to the Pituffik base it already operates in the north.
In a section aimed at barring US adversaries China and Russia from gaining a foothold in the Arctic, the agreement blocks non-NATO, non-EU countries from strategic sectors in Greenland.
"The Parties agree that states or investors from a state that is not a member of NATO, a NATO partner, or an EU member state shall not be allowed to have control, significant influence, or access to non-public information that may constitute a threat to national security or public order within particularly sensitive sectors or activities in the territory of Greenland (including the Territorial Waters), unless agreed between the Parties that the activities of such states or investors would not constitute a threat to national security or public order," the agreement says.
The agreement also stipulates that Greenland, home to 57,000 inhabitants, must continue to abide by the agreement even if it obtains independence from Denmark, and must remain in or join NATO "if necessary".
Under a 1951 defence pact updated in 2004, Washington was already able to ramp up its military presence on the island provided it informed Denmark and Greenland in advance.