EditU.S. to open two new military bases in Greenland
Denmark, Greenland and the United States are expected to sign today their new agreement at the United Nations General Assembly in New York
The U.S. plans to re-establish a Cold War-era military base in southern Greenland and set up another on the east coast, now used by the Danish dog sled patrol, under a deal to be signed with Denmark and Greenland on Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The sites are Narsarsuaq, whose population has dwindled to a few dozen people since the U.S. closed its Bluie West One military base in the 1950s, and Mestersvig, a military outpost used by the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, a Danish special forces unit, said two of the people.
On Friday, Reuters first reported that the United States and Denmark were closing in on an arrangement that would increase the U.S. military presence in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, but fall well short of Trump’s goal of acquiring the island. Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the agreement recognized the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Danish Realm and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination. Nuuk and Copenhagen stressed that Greenland is not for sale and that sovereignty would not be ceded. NATO welcomed the deal as a step toward security and cooperation in the region.
U.S., Denmark and Greenland reach security deal after months of tension over Trump’s claims
Denmark, Greenland and the United States are expected to sign their new agreement at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT) on Tuesday.
The text of the agreement has not been made public and the three people familiar with the deal, speaking on condition of anonymity, said its details will not be finalized until it is signed.
The governments of Denmark and Greenland did not immediately respond to a request by Reuters for comment.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment on the details of the agreement, repeating an earlier statement that its signing on Tuesday would “secure and defend the security of Greenland and the United States.”
Denmark says the agreement puts Arctic security under the watch of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the military defence alliance, rather than leaving it solely to the U.S. and Denmark.
The deal follows months of pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has long said he wants the U.S. to control Greenland and has at times refused to rule out military or economic force to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory. The idea has been rejected by an overwhelming majority of Greenlanders, polling shows.
Trump’s 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.
During the Cold War, the U.S. maintained 17 military installations and more than 10,000 personnel in Greenland. Today only Pituffik Space Base remains, with some 150 U.S. military personnel.
With Reuters
Caption: The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen (L), Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (2-L) and Greenland’s head of government Jens-Frederik Nielsen (3-L) visit the company Eutelsat Oneweb in Nuuk, Greenland, 7 September 2026. The Enhanced Satellite Connectivity Project for Greenland was officially launched in Nuuk on 7 September with the aim of extending reliable, high-speed, low-latency satellite internet to remote and rural communities in Greenland, as part of a broader EU–Greenland Partnership Package worth 200 million euros that was presented. EPA/Mads Claus Rasmussen
Updated: September 22, 2026 - 05:56
