Trump Signs Pact on Greenland After Threatening to Quit NATO

President Donald Trump signed a new security pact with Denmark and Greenland just five months after threatening to pull the United States out of NATO. Trump previously called the alliance a paper tiger and expressed anger because European allies refused to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The new agreement was signed on September 22 at the United Nations General Assembly in New York by Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.

The New Pact

The pact allows the US to set up two new defence areas at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig and expand the existing Pituffik Space Base. Narsarsuaq is a former Cold War base, while Mestersvig is used by Denmark's Sirius Dog Sled Patrol. The agreement also gives the US broader flyover, landing, and undersea access across Greenland. It maintains Danish sovereignty and Greenland's right to self-determination, while explicitly tying its defence to NATO. The text also blocks non-NATO states from setting up military installations or keeping a permanent military presence on the island. The deal has no end date and can only be changed by mutual consent.

Reactions

Frederiksen stated that the pact strengthens Arctic and North Atlantic security while respecting sovereignty. Nielsen said the agreement recognizes their right to self-determination and keeps NATO strong in the Arctic. Trump previously expressed interest in buying Greenland in 2019 and called its ownership an absolute necessity in December 2024, at one point refusing to rule out military force. Meanwhile, US law passed in 2023 by co-author Marco Rubio gives Congress the power to approve any NATO withdrawal, though Trump claimed he does not need congressional approval.