By Sanne Wass
Sep 19, 2026 (Bloomberg) – The US, Denmark, and Greenland have signed a security agreement that increases Washington’s involvement in Greenland without transferring any land to the US, effectively resolving a long-standing diplomatic issue.
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that his administration has secured “permanent control over security” in Greenland. Leaders from Denmark and Greenland confirmed that the agreement is set to be signed next week during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Details of the deal are still to be disclosed. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated that the agreement “recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Denmark and the rights of the people of Greenland to self-determination, meaning that Trump will not gain any ownership or sovereignty over the island.
This represents a notable shift from Trump’s earlier attempts to take control of Greenland or make it part of the US. His repeated calls to acquire the territory had caused tension between Washington and its European allies, straining relations within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) significantly.
For Denmark and Greenland, this agreement is an important step toward ending a nearly two-year standoff without surrendering land to the US, according to Marc Jacobsen, an associate professor at the Institute for Strategy and War Studies at the Royal Danish Defence College.
“Donald Trump needs to be seen as a winner,” Jacobsen said in an interview. “So a new agreement was necessary, allowing him to claim that his efforts were successful.” However, he noted that when it comes to Trump’s ambitions regarding Greenland, “he did not achieve his goals.”
Trump shared the news of the arrangement on social media on Friday, explaining that it would allow the US to prevent adversaries from setting up military bases or investments in Greenland.
This agreement arrives after a series of challenges for Trump, including ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, an unresolved war in Ukraine, and rising living costs for voters as midterm elections approach.
The tension began to ease after Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where they agreed on the basics of a framework agreement regarding Greenland. Since then, officials from Denmark, Greenland, and the US have held discussions in a working group to address the dispute.
Following a meeting of NATO defense chiefs in Copenhagen, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone commented on the agreement, saying that the alliance is “taking great care” of the area, including through exercises like Arctic Sentry. He emphasized that maintaining control of the region is one of NATO’s top priorities.
Trump’s desire to take over Greenland has been present since his first term in office. He has warned that Russia and China are interested in establishing a presence there and that only the US could prevent that. However, Danish and Greenlandic leaders have consistently rejected any notion of giving up control of the island.
“Next week could be a good week for Greenland, Denmark, and the United States,” said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen in an Instagram post after the deal was reached. “Hopefully, a long period of uncertainty will be replaced by a solid agreement that enhances security in the Arctic and North Atlantic, thereby improving our shared security in NATO and Europe — while acknowledging the Kingdom’s boundaries.”