President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. has reached an agreement for “permanent control over security” for Greenland that would enable a broad expansion of the American military presence on the territory of Denmark that he has long coveted.
The White House did not release a draft of the agreement, which is expected to be signed by all three parties at the U.N. General Assembly next week. It would apparently replace a 1951 treaty that granted the U.S. authority to station troops in Greenland.
The agreement would bar non-NATO nations from establishing a military base or having a troop presence on the island — and would prohibit investments by non-allies in the critical minerals and mining sectors, according to the State Department.
Those provisions appear designed to block China or Russia from doing business or establishing a military footprint in Greenland , though one NATO official, granted anonymity to discuss a diplomatic mater, said that there is no indication either country has any such plans.