Greenland's parliament voted on Tuesday to approve a security agreement with Denmark and the United States that expands the American military presence on the Arctic island after months of pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Lawmakers in the capital, Nuuk, approved the trilateral deal 16-0 with seven abstentions. The agreement was signed in September in New York by Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. It aims to strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic while keeping the self-governing island under Danish control. It would remain in effect even if Greenland chooses independence.
The deal updates a 1951 defense agreement and allows the U.S. to establish two new military bases at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig, while modernizing the existing Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland. It also includes elements of Trump's planned "Golden Dome" missile defense system and bars non-NATO states from building military facilities on the island without approval from all three parties.
The agreement now goes to Denmark's parliament, the Folketing, for a vote scheduled for November 19. It will enter into force once the necessary parliamentary processes of the Kingdom of Denmark, in conjunction with Greenland, have been completed.
Trump had repeatedly called for the U.S. to take control of the mineral-rich island, saying American control was vital to national security and not ruling out military force to seize it. He later backed down from any threat.
Nielsen said on Facebook after the vote that Greenlanders had stood united despite geopolitical tensions to show the world that the island decides its own fate. "We must be able to cooperate with other countries," he wrote, adding that cooperation must respect "our people, our country and our rights." He added: "Greenland is our country. Greenland will always be our country."
Greenlandic Foreign Minister Mute Egede called the ratification an important step, saying before the vote: "We must accept that peace and stability are no longer self-evident." Opposition lawmakers from the Naleraq party questioned the deal's economic value. Party leader Pele Broberg said his party sought a better agreement that Greenland could benefit from after independence, arguing the current deal offers no economic advantage.
Some residents expressed mixed feelings. Nukaaka Lund-Mathaeussen, 28, of Ilulissat hoped the approval meant the Trump administration "got what they wanted" and that "hopefully after this we won't be getting underhanded threats from the American government." Nukaaraq Thomsen, 43, an incineration plant worker, said: "My opinion is it's safe for Greenland. But not for the people — only for the land." Lars Erik Gabrielsen, mayor of Avannaata Municipality, said: "It's a good deal for Denmark, NATO. Not a good deal for us... There are no benefits, no money to our society. Zero."
