The United States is set to expand its military presence in Greenland by reopening a Cold War-era base and establishing another military facility on the island’s eastern coast under a new agreement with Denmark and Greenland, Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.
Under the agreement, Washington will gain access to military facilities at Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland and Mestersvig on the eastern coast.
Two people familiar with the matter said Narsarsuaq’s population fell to only a few dozen after the United States closed its Blue West One military base there in the 1950s.
The agreement is expected to be signed on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The signing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Greenland time (1430 GMT), according to the report.
The text of the agreement has not yet been made public, and the details could still change before the signing, the people said.
Denmark and Greenland did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A White House spokesperson also declined to provide details of the agreement but reiterated an earlier statement that the deal would help ensure and protect the security of Greenland and the United States.
Denmark has said the agreement would place Arctic security under the broader surveillance and defence framework of NATO, rather than leaving either the United States or Denmark to shoulder responsibility alone.
The agreement comes after years of pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly expressed interest in bringing Greenland under US control. Trump has also declined to rule out the use of military or economic pressure to acquire the autonomous Danish territory.
However, opinion polls have shown that a large majority of Greenlanders reject the idea of Greenland becoming part of the United States.
Trump’s pressure reached a peak in January, triggering diplomatic tensions within NATO and prompting Denmark and Greenland to engage in talks with Washington in an effort to ease the dispute.
During the Cold War, the United States maintained 17 military installations in Greenland and deployed more than 10,000 troops there. Today, the US military presence has been reduced to about 150 personnel at Pituffik Space Base.
The new agreement would mark a significant expansion of US access to strategic locations in Greenland, an increasingly important area for Arctic security and defence.
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