Researcher on Trump's Framework Deal: Expects Two Simultaneous Negotiation Processes
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he won't use force to take over Greenland, but is still pushing for a deal rgarding the Arctic island. (Photo of Nuuk: Birgitte Annie Hansen / Photo of Marc Jacobsen: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS).
US President Donald Trump and NATO's Secretary General have discussed the framework of a future deal on Greenland and the Arctic region. Defense researcher Marc Jacobsen believes that this will entail two related deals; the first within the NATO framework – and the second between the US and the Kingdom of Denmark.
US President Donald Trump wrote on Wednesday evening that a framework had been formed for a future deal on Greenland, and furthermore for the entire Arctic region.
The president himself posted the news of a framework in a post on Truth Social after a meeting that the president had with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Focus on the Arctic
"We have a concept of a deal. I think it is going to be a very good deal for the United States, and also for them. And we are going to work together on something having to do with the Arctic as a whole, but also Greenland. It has to do with security. And other things," Trump elaborated in an interview with CNBC.
When asked if ownership was involved in the discussion of the Arctic island, Trump replied that this is complex, that he will not say anything more right now, and that more will be said later.
However, he mentions both involvement in mineral rights and the "Golden dome" without specifying further.
"They're going to be involved in mineral rights, and so are we," Trump said in the interview with CNBC.
The "Golden dome" is a proposed missile defense system, of which the president has said Greenland will be an important part.
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NATO to do more in the Arctic
After the meeting with Trump, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte commented on the potential deal, saying there still remains a lot of work to be done.
In an interview with Reuters, Rutte said the framework deal would require NATO allies to step up on Arctic security.
"We will come together in NATO with our senior commanders to work out what is necessary," Rutte said and added:
"I have no doubt we can do this quite fast. Certainly I would hope for 2026, I hope even early in 2026."
The NATO Secretary General has stated that mineral rights were not discussed at the meeting. Nor did he negotiate issues with regards to Greenland's sovereignty, several media outlets reports.
The BBC furthermore quotes NATO spokesperson Allison Hart saying negotiations between the United States, Denmark and Greenland will continue with the intention of ensuring that Russia and China do not gain a foothold, either economically or militarily, in Greenland.
The second agreement is likely to result in an upgraded trilateral defense agreement.
Could be two related agreements
As such, it is still unclear what the potential deal will entail in more concrete terms.
However, Associate Professor Marc Jacobsen at the Royal Danish Defence College says that he expects two related deals.
He believes that the first will be within the NATO framework, and the second between the United States and the Kingdom of Denmark.
"The NATO deal will result in increased military presence in the Arctic region where Russia and China pose a threat to allies. The other deal will probably result in an upgraded trilateral defense agreement which takes into account Trump's wish of including Greenland in his Golden Dome project, " Jacobsen says to High North News.
Jacobsen says a clear red line, however, is the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Greenland which will remain within the Kingdom of Denmark
"All this could have been agreed upon without the threats, yes. They may have accelerated the pace, but with a great cost. I don't think the Kingdom of Denmark will agree to give the US a de facto veto over anything going on in Greenland, but Mark Rutte might have proposed something along those lines regarding NATO in the Arctic," he says and continues:
"That's why it's so important to see this as two simultanous - yet interrelated - negotiation processes. That said, Denmark and Greenland might propose as part of a new trilateral defense agreement to keep Russia and China out of Greenland."
Defence agreement in brief
- The United States has had a military presence in Greenland since the Second World War.
- The presence is regulated by the defense agreement from 1951, which gives the United States extensive access to Greenland.
- The United States currently has one military facility in Greenland, Pituffik Space Base, which, among other things, monitor potential threats such as intercontinental missiles.
"It is very positive that NATO will now do more to strengthen security in and around the Arctic," says Denmark's Minister of Defense, Troels Poulsen (right), in a post on X. From left: Greenland's Minister of Foreign Affairs and NATO Secretary General. (Photo: NATO).
Not negotiating sovereignty
Denmark's Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, says the Kingdom of Denmark wants to enter into a constructive dialogue with allies on how to strengthen security in the Arctic, including the United States' Golden Dome – provided that it is done with respect for the Kingdom's territorial integrity.
"Security in the Arctic is a matter for the entire NATO alliance. It is therefore good and natural that this is also discussed between NATO's Secretary General and the US President. The Kingdom of Denmark has for a long time worked to ensure that NATO increases its engagement in the Arctic," says Frederiksen in a press release.
"NATO is aware of the Kingdom of Denmark's position. We can negotiate on anything political; security, investments, economy. But we can not negotiate our sovereignty. I have been informed that this has not been the case either," she says, referring to Rutte's meeting with Trump.
"Of course, only Denmark and Greenland themselves can make decisions on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland," she concludes.