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The US, Denmark and Greenland sign a security deal that opens two new military sites
September 22, 2026
The US, Denmark and Greenland signed a security agreement that reopens a Cold War airbase at Narsarsuaq and stations US forces at Mestersvig, a Danish dog sled patrol post.
Greenland, once a Danish colony, governs most of its own affairs inside the Kingdom of Denmark, lies between North America and the Arctic, holds large energy reserves, and already hosts a US space base.
Key facts
- A security agreement that Denmark, Greenland and the US are due to sign on Tuesday would return a Cold War base in southern Greenland to service and place American forces at an eastern post staffed by Denmark's dog sled patrol.
- The agreement, signed while Trump was in New York for the UN General Assembly, stops well short of his call to annex the island as US territory and head off Russian and Chinese expansion in the Arctic.
- The deal adds two military sites, Narsarsuaq, a Cold War airbase now down to a few dozen residents, and Mestersvig, a Danish special forces post that the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol uses.
- Pituffik Space Base, in Greenland's remote northwest, is already in US hands.
CNBC reports that the US plans to bring a Cold War era base in southern Greenland back into use and to put forces at an eastern outpost the Danish dog sled patrol runs, as part of a wider security agreement set for signing on Tuesday, and Reuters corroborates that account. Reuters reports that the agreement, signed while Trump was in New York for the UN General Assembly, stops well short of his demand that the island be annexed as US territory to check the growing presence of Russia and China in the Arctic, and CNBC corroborates it. CNBC reports that Trump announced the agreement last Friday and described what it gives the US as “permanent control over security, and all other needs” in the Danish island territory, a description Reuters and AP News corroborate.
Reuters reports that the deal adds two new military sites. One is Narsarsuaq, a Cold War airbase whose population is down to a few dozen, and the other is Mestersvig, a Danish special forces post that the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol uses, and CNBC corroborates both. Reuters reports that the US already runs Pituffik Space Base in Greenland's remote northwest, which CNBC carries as well. On the terms, Reuters reports that the deal has no end date, gives US aircraft and vessels wide access to Greenland and its waters, bars states outside NATO from placing military installations on the island, and keeps investors from outside NATO, its partners and the European Union from taking control or major influence in sensitive sectors such as critical infrastructure and resource extraction.
CNBC reports that Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the pact recognizes Danish sovereignty, the Kingdom's territorial integrity and the right of Greenlanders to decide their own future, and that Trump was satisfied on Friday, calling the deal an answer to “ALL of our many U.S. concerns” at no cost. CNBC also reports that Greenland has held to the line that it is not for sale and that the European Union closed ranks earlier this year to rebuke Trump for pressing to acquire the island. AP News sets out how Trump's interest in Greenland has built up over the years, Reuters presents the signing as a bid to end the Arctic standoff, and The Economist writes that Trump has dropped his demand to own the island while the harm is already done. The signing, the two new sites and the base at Pituffik are corroborated by Reuters and CNBC. What the terms mean in practice for Greenland and Denmark is still forming.
President Donald Trump announced the deal with Greenland and Denmark on Friday, saying it hands the US “permanent control over security, and all other needs” in the Danish territory.
Still developing
Nielsen said after the signing that Greenlanders now begin restoring trust with the US. Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen, a University of Copenhagen professor of political science, said the agreement could be used to force through further concessions.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- Reuters — Trump, Greenland, Denmark sign deal in bid to end Arctic standoff | Reuters
- CNBC — U.S. strikes Greenland deal for 'permanent control over security,' will send forces to Danish dog-sled outpost and reopen Cold War base: report
- AP News — A timeline of US President Donald Trump’s interest in Greenland
- The Economist — Donald Trump drops demands to own Greenland, but the harm has been done
Toggle read the full reports of 2 of the 4 outlets counted on this event. The other 2 are counted from their headlines and opening sentences.