Denmark and Greenland welcomed on Saturday a "binding" agreement with the United States on Arctic security, which US President Donald Trump described as granting Washington "permanent control" over Greenland's security and ruling out the establishment of Russian and Chinese bases on the island.
The agreement is expected to be signed on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the agreement "will strengthen security" in the Arctic and North Atlantic, noting that it respects "the red lines" Copenhagen had set.
The exact terms of the agreement remain unclear, while Denmark insists its sovereignty over Greenland remains intact.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the text "recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of the people of Greenland to self-determination."
Greenland's head of government, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said for his part that the agreement "guarantees and strengthens the security of Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, the United States and the Western alliance."
Trump announced on Friday that the US had secured "permanent control" over Greenland's security, arguing the agreement would prevent Washington's rivals, chiefly China and Russia, from gaining a military presence or making sensitive investments on the island without US consent.
A State Department official said the agreement ensures China and Russia will not be able to establish bases or deploy troops in Greenland, and that mechanisms are in place to prevent investment in sensitive sectors.
Trump also announced that the US would "immediately" begin the process of strengthening its military presence on the island.
According to reports, Washington is considering building three new bases in southern Greenland, in addition to the existing Pituffik base in the north of the island.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the agreement as a compromise that "addresses all our national security concerns regarding Greenland."
Trump also said the agreement would be of indefinite duration and "at no cost" to Washington, while, according to a State Department official, it would remain in force even in the event of Greenland achieving full independence.
The agreement comes after months of tension in US-Danish relations, after Trump had threatened that Washington could take control of Greenland.
Greenland occupies a strategic position between Russia and the United States, holds significant untapped rare earth deposits, and is gaining growing geopolitical importance as melting ice opens new Arctic shipping routes.
A 1951 defence agreement, updated in 2004, already gave US armed forces broad scope to deploy facilities in Greenland, subject to notifying the relevant authorities.
Source: Cyprus News Agency (CNA)
