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The United States, Denmark, and Greenland are set to sign a new security agreement on Tuesday that would expand America’s military footprint on the island while placing broader responsibility for Arctic defense under NATO’s umbrella, according to Danish officials and people familiar with the deal.
Under the plan, Washington intends to reopen a former Cold War installation in southern Greenland and establish a new military presence at a site on the island’s east coast. The first location, Narsarsuaq, was once home to the US base known as Bluie West One, which shut down in the 1950s and now has only a few dozen residents. The second site, Mestersvig, is currently used by Denmark’s Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, a special forces unit that monitors the remote eastern coastline.
The agreement is expected to be formally signed on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday morning. Its full text has not been made public, and people familiar with the negotiations say some details could still shift before signing. Representatives for the Danish and Greenlandic governments, along with the White House, did not immediately comment.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen visit the 9/11 Memorial and Ground Zero in New York, US, September 21, 2026. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via REUTERS
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said over the weekend that the deal is designed so that Arctic security is not solely a Danish or American responsibility, adding that NATO would take on a larger share of that role going forward. A NATO spokesperson said the alliance welcomes the arrangement, describing it as a step toward greater stability and cooperation in the region.
President Trump has said on social media that the agreement grants the US “permanent control” over security matters in Greenland and would require Washington’s approval before any rival power could establish a base or military presence there. Danish and Greenlandic officials have not directly addressed Trump’s characterization, though both governments say the deal will benefit Greenland and respect its sovereignty.
The agreement follows months of tension that began after Trump suggested the US should gain control of Greenland, at times declining to rule out economic or military pressure to achieve that goal. The dispute, which peaked in January, unsettled NATO allies and pushed Copenhagen and Nuuk into negotiations with Washington aimed at easing the standoff. It remains unclear whether the new deal will modify the existing 1951 defense agreement that has long served as the legal basis for the US military presence on the island. During the Cold War, the US operated as many as 17 sites across Greenland with more than 10,000 troops; today only Pituffik Space Base remains active, with roughly 150 American personnel.