Greenland and the potential settlement: everything you need to know
A “framework agreement” outlines the contours of a potential settlement between the United States and Denmark over Greenland, the island now lying at the heart of a crisis threatening its administrative status.
Here is what is known about the proposed settlement, following President Donald Trump’s announcement that an agreement had been reached under the auspices of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
What Donald Trump announced
The American president wrote on his social media platform Truth Social from the Swiss resort of Davos, where he is attending the World Economic Forum: “During a very productive working meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, we established a framework for an upcoming agreement concerning Greenland, indeed the entire Arctic region.”
Donald Trump later told reporters that the draft agreement granted the United States “everything it wanted” and “forever,” without providing further details.
When asked whether this meant owning Greenland, Trump hesitated before dodging the question, saying that “this agreement is long-term” and that it “will last forever.”
Preventing China and Russia
Mark Rutte confirmed that the discussions between the United States and NATO regarding Greenland aim to prevent Russia and China from gaining access to this autonomous Danish territory, as well as to other countries in the Arctic region.
According to Rutte, the goal is to collectively ensure the security of seven Arctic countries in the face of Russia and China, namely the United States, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Finland and Norway.
The NATO Secretary General added that the objective is to ensure that China and Russia cannot gain economic and military access to Greenland.
Danish sovereignty
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated on local television that “the positions of Denmark and Greenland are identical, and no negotiations took place yesterday with NATO regarding our sovereignty.”
She had previously said in a statement that “it goes without saying that Denmark and Greenland alone are entitled to make decisions concerning their shared affairs.”
The Danish prime minister indicated that her country has maintained close dialogue with NATO and that she has personally spoken regularly with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, notably before and after his meeting with Trump in Davos, adding that she coordinated her efforts with the Greenland government throughout the process.
For his part, Rutte told Fox News that the issue of Greenland’s sovereignty was not raised during his discussions with the American president.
A source familiar with the talks between Donald Trump and Mark Rutte also told Agence France-Presse that the idea of establishing American bases in Greenland under U.S. sovereignty was not discussed.
Renegotiation
According to the same source, the United States and Denmark will renegotiate the defense agreement signed in 1951 concerning Greenland.
Security in the Arctic will be strengthened, with European NATO countries contributing to this effort, the source said.
Since 1951, the defense agreement, updated in 2004, has granted U.S. armed forces near-total freedom of operation in Greenland, subject to prior notification of the authorities.
The United States currently maintains only one base in Greenland, the Pituffik base (formerly Thule), located in the north of this vast Arctic island, after having operated around ten bases during the Cold War.
This site plays a crucial role in the American missile defense system.
