Greenland Approves Military Deal With US and Denmark, Ensuring Expanded American Presence in Arctic

Lawmakers in Greenland voted on a security and defense agreement between Greenland, the United States, and Denmark in the Inatsisartut, Greenland’s parliament, on Nov. 4. The agreement is a step toward establishing an expanded U.S. military presence on the Arctic island, a move that President Donald Trump has strongly advocated.

The military agreement thus appears to bring an end to Trump’s threats to acquire Greenland by force and his pressure on Denmark to comply with his demands for greater authority over the territory, USA Today reported.

Following its approval by Greenland’s lawmakers, the agreement must now be approved by Denmark’s parliament, the Folketing, in a scheduled vote on Nov. 19. It will then take effect after a diplomatic notification is delivered to the U.S. administration, according to The Copenhagen Post. Greenland will remain under Danish sovereignty.

The agreement was initially signed by three parties: U.S. President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on September 22, 2026, in New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Greenland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Múte B. Egede said the agreement was important for maintaining peace and stability in Greenland, which can no longer be taken for granted.

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“This is about all of us. The Greenland we love. About our security. And about our right to shape our own future,” Egede said in a Facebook post published on Sept. 18.

However, the agreement has come under criticism from Naleraq, Greenland’s opposition party, which has questioned why Greenland would receive no payment under the deal. Naleraq, which received more than 25 percent of the vote in Greenland’s 2025 election, has criticized the agreement and called for a referendum.

US reinforces military presence

The agreement will allow Washington to establish two additional military bases in Greenland while reaffirming Denmark’s sovereignty over the world’s largest island, as well as its territorial integrity, and recognizing Greenlanders’ right to self-determination under international law.

The two proposed strategic bases will be located at Narsarsuaq, near the island’s southern tip, and Mestersvig, on the eastern coast, about 450 miles from Iceland. Both sites have previously hosted military facilities.

“We will immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate locations. We’ll be building two very major military bases,” Trump had said at the signing ceremony on Sept 22.

The United States already operates a military installation in Greenland: Pituffik Space Base, formerly known as Thule Air Base. Its principal functions include ballistic missile early warning and detection, space surveillance and satellite tracking, support for North American missile defense, and strategic satellite communications, according to ABC News.

An announcement regarding an upgrade to Pituffik Space Base, formerly known as the Thule Air Force Base, was also made days before the U.S.-Denmark-Greenland security agreement was announced in September.

“We will immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many,” Trump said in a Sept. 18 social media post announcing the deal.