The United States is in regular negotiations with Denmark to expand the US military presence in Greenland, according to several officials familiar with the discussions, and negotiations between the two sides have made progress in recent months, the BBC reports.
Greenland PHOTO: Istock
US officials are seeking to open three new bases in the southern territory, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark, as they work to resolve a diplomatic crisis sparked by President Donald Trump when he threatened to occupy Greenland by force.
Trump said in January that the US should “possess” Greenland to prevent Russia or China from taking it over. He said this could happen “on the easy way” or “the hard way”.
The White House confirmed that the administration is engaged in high-level talks with Greenland and Denmark, but declined to comment on the details of the negotiations. A White House official told the BBC that the administration is very optimistic that the talks are moving in the right direction, according to the News.
Denmark has previously expressed willingness to discuss additional US military bases in Greenland, and its Foreign Ministry has confirmed that talks with the US are taking place. “There is a diplomatic track underway with the United States. The Foreign Office will not go into further detail at this time.”a spokesman said.
There is no question of the annexation of Greenland
US officials have proposed an arrangement in which the three new military bases would be officially designated as sovereign US territory, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations.
The bases would be located in southern Greenland and would focus mainly on monitoring potential Russian and Chinese maritime activities in an area of the North Atlantic between Greenland, Iceland and the UK known as the GIUK Gap, officials who spoke to the BBC said.
The two sides have yet to formally agree on anything, and the final number of bases could change, the sources said.
One of the new bases would likely be located in Narsarsuaq, on the site of a former US military base that housed a small airport.
Any other new military bases would also be located on land in Greenland that has existing infrastructure, such as airfields or ports, that could be upgraded at a lower cost than building new facilities, analysts said.
American officials did not raise during the talks the possibility of somehow taking control of Greenland, something that Denmark and NATO have publicly rejected. Despite Trump's threats, the countries have worked actively in recent months to reach an agreement.
Talks have been limited to a small working group of Washington officials who have been making progress on negotiations away from the spotlight while the administration has been absorbed by the Iran war.
General Gregory Guillot, head of the US Northern Command, provided an overview of the negotiations during his March hearing before Congress. He said the US wanted to open new bases, but sources close to the talks described new details that paint a picture of regular high-level meetings that have progressed in recent months.
Denmark prepared to respond to a US invasion of Greenland. “The military took with them bags of blood and explosives”
The shadow figure of the negotiations
The delicate diplomatic effort is being led by Michael Needham, a senior State Department official who has been tasked with crafting a deal that would satisfy Trump while respecting Denmark's limits on protecting its borders. “Needham runs operations” on Greenland, said a senior diplomat with knowledge of the talks. Behind the scenes, said the person in question, the administration “ahandle the issue in a very professional manner.”
The teams have met at least five times since mid-January. Needham is usually accompanied by one or two US State Department or National Security Council officials, multiple sources said. Among his counterparts in the room are Jesper Møller Sørensen, Denmark's ambassador to the US, and Jacob Isbosethsen, the top Greenlandic diplomat in Washington.
Trump's special envoy to Greenland, Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, did not participate in the negotiations and is largely absent from the diplomatic process, three sources said. “Rather, he should have been an enthusiastic supporter of the idea that we could simply show our strength and take over Greenland as a security asset.” said a close Landry ally, who asked not to be named. Landry”he never participated in any of the actual discussions“, the source said.
Landry's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Diplomacy, an easier way
The US currently has only one military base in Greenland, compared to about 17 military facilities at the height of the Cold War. The Pituffik space base is located in northwest Greenland – it monitors missiles for NORAD, but is not configured to conduct maritime surveillance.
Some current and former officials, as well as Arctic security experts, told the BBC that Washington could have advanced its interests in Greenland without threatening a NATO ally in such harsh terms. “Why threaten an ally with a military operation or an invasion when what you want is something that could be negotiated quite easily?”a former senior US defense official said.
“We want Greenland.” Trump reignites NATO tensions ahead of meeting with Mark Rutte in Washington
Others praised the cooperation between the US and Denmark. “Wherever the US and our allies leave a vacuum, that vacuum is often filled by China and Russia”retired general Glen VanHerck, head of the Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) from 2020 to 2024, told the BBC.
Behind closed doors, negotiators tried to reach a compromise in a decades-old security agreement between the US and Denmark. The 1951 pact gives the US wide latitude to expand its military operations in Greenland. The Danish government must approve any US military expansion into the territory, but Denmark has long supported US military operations and has never rejected a US request to expand its presence, Arctic security experts said.
Trump has expressed interest in the US gaining greater access to Greenland during his first term as president. But his renewed interest earlier this year triggered a diplomatic crisis that highlighted tensions between NATO and the Trump administration.
