Conflict over Arctic island: Greenland gives green light for agreement with the USA

Greenland's parliament has given the green light to a new security and defense agreement with the USA. In a vote on Tuesday, according to the Ritzau news agency, a majority voted in favor of the agreement that US President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Accordingly, 16 MPs spoke in favor of the agreement, seven abstained. There were no dissenting votes.

The approval of the Danish Parliament is still pending. A vote in Copenhagen is scheduled for November 19th. When the US is informed of the results of the two votes through diplomatic channels, the agreement can finally enter into force.

What is in the agreement?

The agreement modernizes and supplements a defense agreement between Denmark and the USA that has existed since 1951. It puts at least a temporary end to the conflict over the Arctic island that the US President instigated. Trump had threatened to annex Greenland several times in the past and justified his actions with security interests. After the agreement was signed, all three parties celebrated themselves as victors. From a Danish and Greenlandic perspective, the concessions are a small price to pay. Sovereignty is not affected.

Thanks to an agreement from 1951, the USA already has a lot of military leeway on the Arctic island. The US military currently only maintains one military base there, the Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland, which is important for missile defense and radar surveillance. The deal allows the Americans to modernize and expand their activities there. In addition, the USA should initially be allowed to set up two more defense sites.

What does Trump get out of it?

In addition, Denmark and Greenland grant US forces great freedom of movement on and around the Arctic island. On the other hand, no non-NATO state should be allowed to build military installations in Greenland without the approval of the three parties. The deal also limits the influence of states - or investors from states - that are neither NATO members or partners nor EU members when it comes to investments. This meets Trump's desire to limit China and Russia's influence in the region.