Trump, Greenland, Denmark sign deal in bid to end Arctic standoff

UNITED NATIONS — President Donald Trump and the leaders of Greenland and Denmark signed an agreement on Tuesday that permits a larger U.S. ​military presence on Greenland and may resolve a standoff over the strategically located and mineral-rich island.

The agreement, signed during Trump's visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, stops short of Trump's demand that the U.S. adopt Greenland as a ‌territory to head off the growing Arctic presence of Russia and China.

But the deal does permit a greater military presence on the icy territory, an option that emerged as Greenland leaders ⁠argued against a complete U.S. takeover.

A text of the deal released after ​the signing event said the U.S. can establish a "Golden Dome" defense ⁠system in Greenland as a shield against ballistic missile threats. The shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the Arctic island, which ‌is the location of the northernmost U.S. ‌military base.

In his speech to the assembled world leaders at the U.N. before the signing ceremony, Trump said the ⁠agreement gives the U.S. "permanent control over security and all other needs on that territory."

"No U.S. ⁠adversary will ever be permitted to establish a military presence in Greenland any more, or make sensitive investments there without our express written approval," Trump said.

Trump signed the agreement along with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen in a trilateral ceremony after Trump gave his U.N. speech.

Frederiksen described the agreement as a deal that can "last forever" and said it underlines the importance of the NATO alliance and respects Greenland's right to self-determination.

A strong NATO

Nielsen emphasized the importance of NATO in the Arctic region. "We believe that it ‌is vital to keep NATO strong, also in the Arctic, where the alliance has a key role ​to play," he said.

Greenland, a former colony and now a semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, sits between the Arctic and North America and holds vast energy resources.

The U.S. already operates Pituffik Space Base in remote northwestern Greenland. The deal is expected to open two new military sites: Narsarsuaq, a former Cold War airbase whose population has dwindled to just a few dozen, and Mestersvig, currently used by the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, a Danish special forces unit.

"We will immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate location. We will be building two very major military bases," Trump said in his U.N. speech.

Trump's refusal to rule out military or ​economic force to acquire Greenland triggered a diplomatic crisis in January within NATO and forced Denmark and the island's government into months of intensive negotiations.

"The reason why we can conclude ‌this agreement, which ‌is beneficial from Greenlandic, American, ⁠and European perspectives, as well as on behalf of the Kingdom of Denmark, is that it is a matter of security policy," Frederiksen said in New York on Monday.

The text of the deal says the agreement amends a 1951 defense treaty that has been the legal basis for the U.S. presence.

The deal marks a shift from Trump's earlier ambitions for an outright acquisition of Greenland, an island three times the size of Texas with a population ‌of only 57,000 scattered along its ​rugged coastline.

But it represents a significant expansion of military infrastructure on the island — the ‌first major increase since the Cold ⁠War, when the U.S. maintained 17 ​installations and more than 10,000 personnel there.

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