- Nato will strengthen Arctic presence under American framework agreement.
- Trump’s Greenlandic ambitions strain the transatlantic ties.
- EU leaders are wary of the USA’s reliability after an episode with Greenland.
President Donald Trump said Thursday he had secured full and permanent US access to Greenland in a deal with Nato, whose leader said allies will need to step up their commitment to Arctic security to fend off threats from Russia and China.
News of a framework agreement came as Trump backed off tariff threats against Europe and ruled out taking Greenland by force, giving some breathing room in what was shaping up to be the biggest break in transatlantic ties in decades.
Trump’s U-turn sparked a rebound in European markets and a return to record highs for Wall Street’s main indexes, but also raised questions about how much damage had already been done to transatlantic ties and business confidence.
Details of any agreement were unclear, and Denmark insisted that its sovereignty over the island was not up for debate. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc’s US relations had “taken a big hit” in the past week as EU leaders met for an emergency summit.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed Trump’s comments but said he was still in the dark on many aspects.
“I don’t know what is in the agreement or the agreement about my country,” he told reporters in the capital Nuuk.
“We are ready to discuss a lot of things and we are ready to negotiate a better partnership and so on. But sovereignty is a red line,” he said when asked about reports that Trump was seeking control of areas around US military bases in Greenland as part of a broader deal.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said a new deal was being negotiated that would be “much more generous to the United States, so much more generous.”
He questioned sovereignty but said: “We have to have the ability to do exactly what we want to do.”
Trump previously told the Fox Business Network that the deal would essentially provide “total access” for the United States.
“There is no end, there is no time limit.”
This was reported by a source with knowledge of the case Reuters NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Trump agreed in a Davos on further talks between the US, Denmark and Greenland on updating an agreement from 1951 that regulates US military access and presence on the Arctic island.
The framework they discussed also calls for banning Chinese and Russian investment in Greenland, the source said.
Another source familiar with the matter said what was agreed upon was “a framework to build on,” adding that “anything reported on specific details is speculative.”
Rutte told Reuters in Davos, it was now up to NATO’s commander-in-chief to work out the details of the additional security requirements.
“I have no doubt that we can do this fairly quickly. I’m certainly hoping for 2026, I’m even hoping for early 2026,” he said.
Denmark says that the situation remains difficult
Trump’s ambition to wrest sovereignty over Greenland from Nato member Denmark has threatened to rupture the alliance that has underpinned Western security since the end of World War II and reignite a trade war with Europe.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said there have been no negotiations with Nato over the sovereignty of Greenland, a semi-autonomous area of Denmark.
“It is still a difficult and serious situation, but progress has also been made in the sense that we have now got things where they need to be. Namely that we can discuss how to promote common security in the Arctic region,” she said.
When he later spoke ahead of the EU leaders’ emergency meeting, Frederiksen called for a “permanent presence of Nato in the Arctic region, including around Greenland.”
Kallas said that “disagreements that allies have between them, like Europe and America, are just for the benefit of our adversaries, who are watching and enjoying the view.”
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said he hoped allies could draw up a plan to boost security in the Arctic at a Nato summit in Ankara in July.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Rutte on Thursday that Britain stood ready to play its full role in ensuring security in the Arctic, a spokesman said.
After the meeting with Rutte, Trump said there could be a deal that satisfies his desire for a “Golden Dome” missile defense system and access to critical minerals while blocking what he says are Russian and Chinese ambitions in the Arctic.
Rutte said that mineral extraction was not discussed in his meeting with Trump. Concrete negotiations about the Arctic island will continue between the United States, Denmark and Greenland itself, he said.
The 1951 agreement established the right of the United States to establish military bases in Greenland and to move freely on Greenlandic territory. This is still the case as long as Denmark and Greenland are informed of its actions. Washington is based in Pituffik in northern Greenland.
“It is important to clarify that the US had 17 bases during the Cold War and much greater activity. So it is already possible now under the current agreement,” says Marc Jacobsen, professor at the Norwegian Defense Academy.
“I think there will be concrete discussions about the Golden Dome, and I think there will be concrete discussions about Russia and China not being welcome in Greenland.”
Greenlanders, EU leaders on alert
The president of the European Parliament said the EU is likely to resume work on a trade deal with the US after Trump backed off his tariff threats. Parliament decided this week to suspend work on the agreement due to Trump’s threats.
However, diplomats said so Reuters EU leaders will reconsider the USA’s relationship, as the episode with Greenland has shaken confidence in the transatlantic ties. Governments remain wary of another change of heart by Trump, increasingly seen as a bully that Europe will have to stand up to, they said.
Residents of the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk, are also on alert.
“It’s all very confusing,” said pensioner Jesper Muller.
“One hour we are, well, almost at war. The next hour everything is fine and dandy, and I think it’s very difficult to imagine that you can build anything on it.”
