A proposed NATO-brokered framework discussed at Davos would allow the United States to acquire Cyprus-style sovereign base areas in Greenland as permanent U.S. territory, according to multiple reports.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A proposed agreement discussed during meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos would allow the United States to acquire sovereign base areas in Greenland that would become permanent U.S. territory, according to reporting citing officials familiar with the negotiations. The framework, described as NATO-brokered, would stop short of a full purchase of Greenland but would instead mirror the legal model used by the United Kingdom for its military bases on the island of Cyprus.
Under the reported framework, the United States would obtain one or more sovereign base areas in Greenland that would be legally recognized as U.S. territory “forever,” rather than under a lease arrangement. The concept is modeled on Britain’s sovereign base areas on Cyprus, where the UK retains ownership and full sovereignty over approximately three percent of the island in two exclaves, despite Cyprus gaining independence in 1960.
According to reporting by the New York Times, officials present at meetings between President Donald Trump and NATO representatives said the plan unveiled by Trump would follow a Cyprus-style model. One official described the proposal as a Cyprus base “concept,” while another said it was explicitly “modelled” on Britain’s military bases on Cyprus, as outlined in the New York Times account of the discussions.
The British newspaper The Daily Telegraph separately reported that its own source familiar with the meetings confirmed the framework would involve sovereign base areas rather than a complete sale of Greenland to the United States. The paper stated that the arrangement would be based on the British Cyprus model, granting the U.S. full sovereignty over designated territories while leaving the rest of Greenland under existing governance, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The Telegraph report noted that if the American sovereign area were sufficiently large and strategically located, its legal status would allow the United States not only to establish permanent military infrastructure but also to prospect for mineral resources. Because Greenland is sparsely populated beyond a small number of towns, the report added that even acquiring one percent of its landmass would give the United States a sovereign territory nearly the size of the state of Maryland.
President Trump publicly addressed the proposed deal on Wednesday, describing it as permanent and emphasizing its strategic and economic components. While declining to provide full details, he said the agreement would not be a lease arrangement. He stated the terms would be “forever” and said the other parties involved would be “involved in Golden Dome, and they’re going to be involved in mineral rights.”
Trump said the deal “gets us everything we needed to get… it’s a deal that everybody is very happy with,” adding that it would involve close cooperation on Arctic security. “I think it’s going to be a very good deal for the United States, and also for them, and we’re going to work together on something having to do with the Arctic as a whole and also Greenland, it has to do with security, great security,” he said. “It’s a little bit complex but we’ll explain it down the line. The Secretary General of NATO and I and some other people were talking and it’s a kind of a deal that I wanted to be able to make.”
The model cited in the reports draws directly from Britain’s long-standing presence on Cyprus. The United Kingdom operates two sovereign military bases on the island: Akrotiri in the south and Dhekelia in the east. Although Cyprus became independent from Britain in 1960, London retained control of these strategically vital areas, which are internationally recognized as British sovereign territory.
RAF Akrotiri remains a key British military hub and has been used extensively for reconnaissance and combat operations, including missions against the Islamic State and strikes related to Red Sea operations. British officials have long described Cyprus as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” in the eastern Mediterranean, a strategic logic that analysts say closely parallels U.S. interest in Greenland’s Arctic location.
If implemented, the Greenland framework would represent a significant expansion of U.S. sovereign territory abroad and mark one of the most consequential shifts in Arctic geopolitics in decades, according to the reports describing the negotiations.
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