Denmark Insists Greenland Resource Rules Remain Unchanged After US Deal
Denmark says a recent agreement with the United States does not alter Greenland's mining or drilling bans, while President Trump promotes future oil and gas exploration.
Denmark's foreign ministry reiterated on Wednesday that a September agreement signed by President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen does not change Greenland's existing restrictions on mineral extraction. The 10-page pact, concluded on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, allows the United States to modernise the Pituffik Space Base and paves the way for two additional military installations and a missile-defence system, but it contains no provisions granting US investors preferential access to Greenland's natural resources.
The ministry said the deal "does not grant investors from the US any preferential treatment" compared with investors from other NATO and EU countries. Greenland's 2021 ban on uranium mining and future oil exploration remains in force, although the Greenlandic government is reviewing permits held by a Texas firm that predate the ban.
"Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin," President Trump wrote on his social-media platform, describing Greenland as "our new and beautiful Greenland".
Danish security policy adviser Jacob Kaarsbo warned that Trump's statements could indicate an unchanged interest in the territory, calling it "extremely dangerous to view this agreement ... as something that has altered Trump’s intentions." Senior researcher Mikkel Olesen of the Danish Institute for International Studies said details on mining and exploration rights were still unclear and that information coming mainly from the US side should be taken "with a grain of salt." NATO Defense College fellow Richard Weitz observed that Trump had settled for less than an annexation but had achieved most of his objectives.
The agreement also reaffirms Danish sovereignty over Greenland and the islanders' right to self-determination, while allowing the United States to expand its military footprint in the Arctic region.