Trump Signs Trilateral Deal Expanding U.S. Military Presence in Greenland

President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed a trilateral security agreement on September 22, 2026, during the U.N. General Assembly in New York. The pact ends a diplomatic crisis sparked by Trump's repeated threats to annex the mineral-rich territory or impose tariffs on European allies to force a sale.

The agreement updates a 1951 defense treaty, granting the U.S. permanent control over security needs and wide military mobility, including undersea access. The U.S. will modernize the Pituffik Space Base and establish two new military bases at Narsarsuaq in the south and Mestersvig on the east coast. These sites will support the proposed Golden Dome missile defense system and monitor the GIUK gap to contain Russian naval access to the Atlantic.

Under the terms, non-NATO and non-EU adversaries—specifically Russia and China—are barred from establishing military bases or making sensitive investments in critical infrastructure and minerals. While Trump characterized the deal as providing "permanent control over security," the document explicitly rejects U.S. ownership, reaffirming Danish sovereignty and Greenland's right to self-determination. The agreement remains binding even if Greenland achieves independence, provided the new state remains a member of NATO.

Greenlandic officials viewed the deal as a victory for autonomy, marking the first time the territory entered a binding international agreement as a direct signatory. The accord also aims to secure supply chains for rare earth elements, reducing U.S. dependence on Chinese minerals.