Already a subscriber? Make sure to log into your account before viewing this content. You can access your account by hitting the “login” button on the top right corner. Still unable to see the content after signing in? Make sure your card on file is up-to-date.

The United States, Denmark, and Greenland have reached a deal that would let the US put far more troops and bases in Greenland, ending months of threats from President Trump to take it by force.

Getting into it: Trump announced the agreement over the weekend, and all three governments are expected to sign it Tuesday in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, though it still needs approval from the Danish and Greenlandic parliaments before it takes effect. No text has been released, but a State Department official said it gives the US “permanent access, basing and overflights rights,” lets Washington build new military facilities without needing sign-off from Greenland or Denmark, bars any non-NATO country from setting up a base there, and blocks adversaries like Russia and China from investing in sensitive sectors such as critical minerals and mining.

The official said the deal would stay in force even if Greenland one day becomes independent. There is no indication that any territory or sovereignty would change hands.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the deal “gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns.”

In a statement, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said, “A time of uncertainty will hopefully give way to a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic, and thereby our shared security within NATO and Europe – while respecting the (Danish) Kingdom’s red lines.” Danish and Greenlandic leaders stressed that the agreement recognizes the kingdom’s sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination. NATO and French President Emmanuel Macron both welcomed the deal.

It is not yet clear how much the deal actually changes. A 1951 treaty between the US and Denmark already allows Washington to station troops on the island with no cap on troop numbers, and more than 100 US service members are stationed full time at Pituffik Space Base in Greenland’s northwest, where they track missile launches and monitor space for the US and NATO.

Trump has said Greenland is central to his planned Golden Dome missile defense system, and the island also sits on massive rare earth mineral deposits that have barely been tapped.