Dispute started by Trump: Greenland, Denmark and USA sign agreement

dpa | In the dispute over Greenland, the USA, Denmark and the Arctic island have concluded an agreement. US President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed an agreement on security interests on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

A few days ago, the three parties surprisingly announced a breakthrough in the dispute over the island. According to Trump, with the agreement the USA is securing extensive powers to defend the Arctic island, which is largely autonomous but belongs to Danish territory. The Danish and Greenlandic sides initially did not confirm Trump's statements in this form.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she would only reveal details after the signing. However, she and Nielsen would not sign an agreement “if it wasn’t good for Greenland.” Shortly before it was signed, Frederiksen described the deal as a “milestone” that was not only good for the three parties, but also for NATO and Europe. Nielsen spoke of a “win win win” situation and a historic agreement. The agreement continues the defense agreement with the USA that has existed since 1951. Trump spoke of a “fantastic long-term relationship.”

As Trump previously said in his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, US adversaries are not allowed to establish a base in Greenland, have a military presence there and make “sensitive investments” unless the US approves it. In addition, preparations would begin immediately to establish a large military presence on the island. Specifically, two large new military bases were to be built.

The US President had threatened to annex Greenland several times in the past, not only snubbing NATO partner Denmark, but also raising doubts about the unity of the military alliance. He also tried to force a sale to the USA by threatening punitive tariffs. Trump justified his actions with US security interests and that enemies of the United States such as China and Russia wanted to take control of the island - and Denmark had nothing to oppose this.

Thanks to an agreement from 1951, the USA already has a lot of military leeway on the ice island. The US military currently only maintains one military base there, the Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland, which is important for missile defense and radar surveillance. It is intended to ensure the US armed forces' superiority in space. Trump spoke several times about building a missile defense system called “Golden Dome” on the island. Greenland could be directly in the path of possible missiles if attacked by an enemy such as Russia.

The Greenland conflict is a highly explosive issue for NATO. On the one hand, the alliance has to fear for its credibility if a leading member threatens to annex areas of another NATO state. On the other hand, it would have been fatal for NATO if the USA had left the alliance in the dispute over this.