United States President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he has reached a “framework of a future deal” with NATO regarding the acquisition of Greenland, hours after drawing the U.S. back from the brink of military and economic conflict with its European allies.
The president’s announcement on the Truth Social platform followed a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and a speech at the World Economic Forum in which he ruled out using force to seize the Danish territory. Trump stated that he and Rutte had formed a framework that, if consummated, “will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations.”
While the U.S. president offered few public details, the proposal appears to hinge on a concept of limited sovereignty. According to reporting by The New York Times, three senior officials familiar with the talks said discussions included a model similar to the United Kingdom’s sovereign military bases in Cyprus. Under such an arrangement, the United States could potentially obtain sovereignty over small pockets of land for military bases rather than annexing the entire island.
Trump’s Greenland deal announcement confused Danish and Greenlandic officials
However, the announcement was met with immediate confusion and pushback from Danish and Greenlandic officials. According to reporting by Reuters, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated clearly that her government “cannot negotiate on our sovereignty” and had been informed that sovereignty was not part of the discussions with NATO.
Similarly, Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, rejected the president’s claims. “What we are witnessing these days in statements from Trump is completely absurd. NATO has absolutely no mandate to negotiate anything whatsoever without us in Greenland,” Chemnitz said.
NATO officials also sought to clarify the nature of the talks. According to reporting by The New York Times, a spokesperson for Rutte stated that the secretary-general “did not propose any compromise to sovereignty during his meeting with the president.” Instead, a NATO statement noted that future negotiations between the U.S., Denmark, and Greenland would focus on ensuring that Russia and China do not gain an economic or military foothold in the region.
Trump sent mixed signals at Davos
The diplomatic exchanges capped a volatile day in Davos, where the U.S. president alternated between coercion and compromise. Earlier in the day, Trump withdrew threats of additional tariffs on European allies and explicitly stated he would not use military might to pursue his goals. “I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” Trump said in his address.
Despite the de-escalation, Trump continued to insist that a simple lease agreement would be insufficient for American security needs. “You need the ownership to defend it,” Trump told the audience in Davos, adding, “Who the hell wants to defend a license agreement or a lease?”
Rutte, speaking in an interview, indicated that the alliance would move quickly to address American security concerns in the Arctic. According to reporting by Reuters, Rutte said he hoped to implement extra security requirements by early 2026, though he noted that specific negotiations regarding the island would remain between the U.S., Denmark, and Greenland.
The shift in tone provided some relief to global markets, which rebounded following the president’s reversal on tariffs and military action. However, the diplomatic fallout remains severe. According to Reuters, one EU diplomat remarked that confidence in the trans-Atlantic relationship had been badly shaken, noting that “Trump crossed the Rubicon” and “there is no coming back to what it was.”