Trump and Denmark describe unpublished Greenland pact in opposite terms

President Donald Trump said Friday that an unpublished security agreement with Denmark and Greenland "gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland." Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the same pact "recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination." The three governments have not released a text.

The Danish Prime Minister's Office said Friday that the agreement would enter into force only "subject to the necessary national parliamentary procedures." Frederiksen called it "a great agreement for Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, and the United States." Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who chairs Naalakkersuisut, Greenland's government, said the pact "recognizes Greenland's interests and our place in the international cooperation." Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, writing Saturday, said he hoped a binding deal would strengthen Arctic and North Atlantic security "while respecting the Kingdom's red lines."

Trump's account is broader. He said no U.S. adversary could have a base, a military presence, or make "sensitive investments" in Greenland "without our express written approval," and that Washington would "immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence." Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the deal "permanently and completely addresses our national security concerns in Greenland" and that "Greenland will forever be part of the strategic defense area of North America." A State Department official, describing terms that have not been released, said the arrangement would bar non-NATO countries from a military base or troop presence on the island and would prohibit non-allied investment in critical minerals and mining.

Those two descriptions cannot be checked against a document, because none has been published. The live possibilities are that the White House is overstating the grant, that Copenhagen and Nuuk are understating it ahead of a vote, or that the unpublished language is ambiguous enough for both capitals to use.

In January, Trump had threatened to take Greenland and to tariff European allies that would not back an acquisition. He later withdrew the tariff threat after meeting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and said he would not use force.

The United States already operates in Greenland under a 1951 defense agreement, amended in 2004, when Thule Air Base, now Pituffik Space Base, was described as the island's only defense area. That framework already gave Washington wide latitude to expand bases and deploy troops. What the new pact adds has not been established. Imran Bayoumi, a former Pentagon official now at the Atlantic Council, said it would be new if the United States could build bases without Greenland's or Denmark's approval.

The parliamentary path runs through the Folketing in Copenhagen and Inatsisartut, Greenland's 31-member parliament in Nuuk. No vote has been set in either chamber. Troels Lund Poulsen, who leads Venstre in the Folketing, called the announcement important and positive for common security and said it was crucial the agreement recognize the Kingdom's sovereignty and Greenlanders' right to decide their own future.

The minerals screen the State Department described is the part that would give Washington a say over who puts capital into Greenland's mines. Greenland Mines, which is developing the Skaergaard and Sarfartoq mineral projects on the island, welcomed the agreement late Friday. Bo Møller Stensgaard, its president, called Greenland "one of the most strategically important regions in the world." The shares' last regular close was $2.85. In extended hours the bid-ask midpoint was $4.49, 57% above that close, as of 8 p.m. Eastern. No analyst note, filing, or exchange notice attributed the move to the announcement.

Critical Metals, which on April 29 closed a deal that took its stake in southern Greenland's Tanbreez rare-earth project to 92.5%, last closed Friday at $6.73. In the same extended session the bid-ask midpoint was $8.12, 21% above that close. Sprott's fund of rare-earth miners outside China CREXC, graded C by etf.net among critical-materials funds, held a 3.61% position as of Friday: about $2.3 million, the seventh-largest name in a $65 million, 41-holding book.

The next dated step the three governments have offered is a signature during next week's U.N. gathering. Then the Folketing and Inatsisartut vote. Until they do, Washington and Copenhagen are describing different bargains.