Denmark says NATO shares responsibility for Arctic security under Greenland deal

COPENHAGEN — Denmark, Greenland and the United States are set to sign a deal on Greenland’s security on Tuesday, an agreement Denmark says will put Arctic security under NATO’s watch rather than leaving it solely to Washington and Copenhagen.

The agreement, expected to be signed at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, has not been made public, though President Donald Trump says it grants the U.S. “permanent control.” Denmark and Greenland have not commented on Trump’s claim but said the deal will benefit the Arctic island and respect its sovereignty.

The deal follows months of pressure from Trump, who has said the United States should control Greenland and at times refused to rule out using military or economic force to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory. His threats, which peaked in January, triggered a diplomatic crisis within NATO and pushed Denmark and Greenland into negotiations with Washington aimed at defusing the pressure.

“It (the agreement) will be in a form where responsibility for security in the Arctic is not only Danish or American,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told national broadcaster TV2 on Sunday. He added that to a large extent “it would be NATO that looks after the Arctic”.

‘Security, stability and cooperation’

A NATO spokesperson said on Saturday that the alliance welcomed the agreement, which would “help advance security, stability and cooperation in this vital region.”

Rasmussen, who travelled to New York overnight, declined to discuss the contents of the agreement.

“But we have said from the start that we are open to accommodating the United States’ legitimate security interests,” Rasmussen told Danish news agency Ritzau on Monday.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday the agreement gives the United States “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland,” and that no U.S. adversary could have a base or military presence there without Washington’s written approval.

Denmark has not responded to Trump’s claim, though Copenhagen has earlier acknowledged it underinvested in Greenland’s defense for decades and has pledged to expand its military presence on the island, including more NATO troops.

Key details have not been made public, including whether the deal amends the 1951 defense agreement that is the legal basis for the U.S. presence in Greenland.

Greenland’s government has sought to reassure the public about the deal.

Erik Jensen, an opposition lawmaker in Greenland, wrote on Facebook that he had read the draft agreement: “I feel reassured and am not worried,” he said, adding that the island’s foreign minister was handling the work well.

哥本哈根——丹麦、格陵兰和美国将于周二签署一项关于格陵兰安全的协议。丹麦表示，该协议将把北极安全置于北约的监管之下，而不是仅仅留给华盛顿和哥本哈根。

预计将于周二在纽约联合国大会上签署的这项协议尚未公开，尽管美国总统唐纳德·特朗普表示，该协议赋予美国“永久控制权”。丹麦和格陵兰岛尚未对特朗普的说法发表评论，但表示该协议将有利于这座北极岛屿，并尊重其主权。

在特朗普数月的施压下，这项协议最终达成。特朗普曾表示美国应该控制格陵兰岛，并一度拒绝排除使用军事或经济手段获取这个丹麦半自治领土的可能性。他的威胁在今年1月达到顶峰，引发了北约内部的外交危机，并迫使丹麦和格陵兰与华盛顿展开谈判，以期缓解压力。

丹麦外交大臣拉斯·勒克·拉斯穆森周日接受丹麦国家电视台TV2采访时表示：“（该协议）将采取一种形式，即北极安全责任将不再仅仅由丹麦或美国承担。”他还补充说，在很大程度上，“北约将负责北极事务”。

“安全、稳定与合作”

北约发言人周六表示，北约欢迎这项协议，该协议将“有助于推进这一重要地区的安全、稳定与合作”。

连夜赶往纽约的拉斯穆森拒绝讨论协议内容。

“但我们从一开始就说过，我们愿意满足美国合法的安全利益，”拉斯穆森周一告诉丹麦里扎乌通讯社。

特朗普周五在 Truth Social 上发帖称，该协议赋予美国“对格陵兰岛安全及所有其他需求的永久控制权”，任何美国的对手未经华盛顿书面批准都不得在那里设立基地或驻军。

丹麦尚未对特朗普的说法作出回应，但哥本哈根此前已承认，几十年来丹麦对格陵兰岛的国防投入不足，并承诺扩大在该岛的军事存在，包括增派北约部队。

关键细节尚未公开，包括该协议是否修改了作为美国在格陵兰岛驻军法律基础的 1951 年防务协议。

格陵兰政府试图让公众对该协议放心。

格陵兰反对派议员埃里克·詹森在脸书上写道，他已经阅读了协议草案：“我感到放心，并不担心，”他说，并补充说，该岛的外交部长正在很好地处理这项工作。