U.S. strikes Greenland deal to end row that threatened NATO

Article content

The U.S. had more than a dozen military bases in Greenland during the Cold War, later closing all of them except for the Pituffik space base in the far north.

Article content

The deal includes some elements that appear to be new, said Jacobsen. One is a U.S. veto over whether other countries can establish a military presence in Greenland. Another is that the arrangement would be permanent. The 1951 agreement is explicitly tied to a key NATO accord and therefore the alliance’s existence. “This one is about the US and is not linked to NATO’s lifespan,” he said.

Article content

The deal also appears to break new ground on investment. Giving Trump the power to bar sensitive investments into Greenlandic mining, ports and infrastructure would amount to the “most far-reaching transfer of decision-making authority among the measures announced,” said Søren Lippert, who runs consultancy GeoPolitik.

Article content

“That concerns economic sovereignty, not land used for military bases, and it does not feature at all in the Danish account” of the agreement, Lippert said in a note.

Article content

Several important questions remain unanswered, said Jacobsen, the professor at the Royal Danish Defence College, including where any new bases would be located, what capabilities and personnel they would host, and who would pay for them. Another question is what Greenland receives in return, beyond the evident removal of the threat of U.S. annexation, he said.

Article content

Article content

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who has previously ruled out ceding sovereignty, said he was encouraged by the accord, which “recognizes Greenland’s interests and our place in the international cooperation.”

Article content

“It is to the benefit of us all,” said the prime minister of the semi-autonomous territory that’s part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Article content

Since returning to office last year, Trump had repeatedly pressured Denmark, a NATO ally, to give up Greenland. Tensions escalated in January after he refused to rule out military action, prompting Denmark and other NATO allies to send troops to the island.

Article content

While the deployment was publicly presented as an exercise, Copenhagen sent forces with live ammunition who were prepared to blow up airport runways to prevent US troops from landing if Trump attempted to seize Greenland by force, according to a report by DR.

Article content

The confrontation began to ease after Trump held talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. There, the two agreed on the contours of a framework agreement regarding Greenland. Senior officials from Denmark, Greenland and the US have since been holding talks in a working group set up to manage the dispute.

Article content

Article content

Speaking to reporters in Copenhagen on Saturday following a meeting of NATO countries’ chiefs of defense, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone welcomed news of Friday’s deal, saying that from a military perspective the alliance is “taking great care” of the area and that “attention toward the north is one of our top priorities because we want to keep that area under control.”

Article content

Trump’s interest in taking over Greenland dates back to his first term in the White House. He has warned that Russia and China desired a foothold there and that only the US could keep them out. But Danish and Greenlandic leaders have long ruled out the idea of giving up control of the island.

Article content

“Next week could be a good week. For Greenland, Denmark and the United States alike,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in a post on Instagram after the deal was struck. “Hopefully, a long period of uncertainty will be replaced by a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and North Atlantic, and thereby our shared security in NATO and Europe — while respecting the Kingdom’s red lines.”

Article content

—With assistance from Chris Miller, Sara Sjolin, Valentine Baldassari and Rebecca Smit

Article content

Article content