US secures permanent Greenland military access in deal

The United States, Denmark and Greenland have entered into an agreement for the US to develop a significant military presence on Greenland, while prohibiting US adversaries from building their own bases on the island, Donald Trump said on Friday. In a Truth Social post, the US president wrote that no US enemies would be able to make sensitive investments on the island without the approval of the United States and that the agreement had no expiry date. “At my direction, we worked with representatives of Denmark and Greenland to guarantee that the United States will FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the security of Greenland, and the United States of America,” Trump wrote.

Earlier on Friday, Reuters exclusively reported that the US and Denmark were closing in on a deal that would result in an increased US military presence in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, but would stop well short of Trump’s long-held dream of acquiring the island for the United States. The US already has nearly total overflight and basing rights in Greenland due to a 1951 treaty. Trump’s announcement suggests he was nonetheless pleased with the outcome of the negotiations and that he might not revive his territorial claims, at least in the near future. He said, without elaborating, that the US would soon be rolling out a large military presence on the island, which already hosts one Space Force base in its remote northwest. “This is a dream come true for the United States of America,” Trump wrote. Extent of US military expansion remains unclear The Danish prime minister’s office said on Friday that the agreement would strengthen North Atlantic and Arctic security. Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said…