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Trump Announces Permanent US Military Rights in Greenland Under New Deal
ReTrump Announces Permanent US Military Rights in Greenland Under New Deal
The Trump administration has secured a landmark agreement with Denmark and Greenland granting the US permanent military access, basing, and overflight rights, while barring China and Russia from establishing a military presence on the Arctic island.
President Donald Trump has struck a sweeping agreement with Denmark and Greenland that grants the United States permanent military rights on the strategically located Arctic island. The deal, announced this week, provides the US with permanent access, basing, and overflight rights, and allows for the establishment of additional military installations as needed, according to a senior US official.
The agreement bars China, Russia, and other non-NATO countries from establishing military bases or maintaining troops in Greenland. It also restricts adversaries from investing in sensitive sectors that could threaten US national security, such as telecommunications infrastructure, undersea cables, ports, and critical minerals. The deal has no expiration date and is designed to remain in effect even if Greenland becomes an independent country.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the agreement a historic win. «This historic deal is a huge win for the United States and the American people,» Rubio said. «Thanks to President Trump's vision and leadership, this historic agreement permanently guarantees U.S. security interests in the Arctic at zero cost to the U.S. taxpayer.» He added that Greenland will forever be part of the strategic defense area of North America, excluding any adversary from it and the surrounding area.
The deal significantly expands on the longstanding US defense relationship with Greenland. The US already operates Pituffik Space Base and has maintained military access under a 1951 defense agreement. Under the new terms, Denmark and Greenland would not have approval authority over additional US military installations. The US would consult with them but retain the right to build new installations when it determines they are necessary, without needing their buy-in.
Administration officials view the permanence of the agreement as key to addressing the security concerns that drove Trump's push to acquire the territory. «The difference here is we're not spending any money for the right» to expand the US military presence, the senior official explained. The administration believes an expanded US military footprint in Greenland could eventually play a role in Trump's planned Golden Dome missile defense system.
Trump had repeatedly argued that control of Greenland was necessary for US national security, pointing to the island's strategic location in the Arctic as Russia and China expand their presence and capabilities in the region. In a post on Truth Social Friday, Trump wrote: «For over 100 years, Presidents have known the strategic importance of Greenland, but NONE of them were able to do anything about it. I am proud to be the President that permanently and conclusively addressed this very important situation. This is an 'Infinite Life' Agreement, there is no end!»
The deal only allows the US and its allies to make sensitive investments on the island. The administration is seeking to prevent Greenland from becoming another version of what it sees as the strategic vulnerability that developed around the Panama Canal, where Chinese commercial interests have fueled US concerns that ostensibly civilian infrastructure could have national security implications. «We're never going to face that in Greenland as a result of this,» the official said.
Officials from both Greenland and Denmark initially scoffed at Trump's insistence that the US must «own» Greenland. But months of negotiations between Rubio, White House advisor Stephen Miller, and officials at the State Department and National Security Council led to a deal that satisfied all sides, a second official said. Representatives from all three countries went through various rounds of quiet negotiations that never leaked, starting in February, as Denmark and Greenland came to see the agreement as serving their own security interests.
«They recognize, at the end of the day, that they have a national security concern here as well,» Rubio said. «Denmark and Greenland understand that they don't have the financial means necessary to defend Greenland if it were to come under attack or be threatened. The United States has the power to do that.»
The agreement stops short of transferring sovereignty over Greenland to the US, but administration officials still view its permanence as crucial to addressing the security concerns that motivated Trump's initial push to acquire the territory. The US will immediately begin developing a large military presence in Greenland, working with the people of Greenland on its development and construction, according to Trump.
