US, Denmark and Greenland sign security agreement

US President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Denmark and Greenland aimed at strengthening Arctic and North Atlantic security, easing tensions over his repeated calls for Greenland to become part of the United States.

The signing Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York comes days after Trump announced the deal to bolster US military presence on the vast, icy island but keep it under Danish control.

The governments provided few details of the agreement before the signing.

"This is tremendous for Europe and for the United States and for everybody," Trump said just before the agreement was signed. "And for Greenland, it's going to be incredible."

For months, Trump has expressed his desire for Greenland to become part of the United States and issued threats to seize the semiautonomous territory from Denmark, a NATO ally.

Officials from the US, Greenland and Denmark negotiated for months behind the scenes, searching for solutions to address some of Trump's security concerns about the mineral-rich island.

Denmark's parliament approved a bill last year to allow US military bases on Danish soil, widening a 2023 military agreement made with the Biden administration that gave US troops broad access to air bases in Denmark.

Trump previously insisted the US needed to "take Greenland," to prevent Russia or China from doing the same.

Though Trump said he would rather "make a deal" for the territory, he added: "one way or the other, we're going to have Greenland."

Frederiksen said Tuesday that the deal being signed was a "deal that can last forever," labelling it as good for the US, Greenland, Denmark and the broader NATO alliance.

"Mr. President, you have been very clear. You don't want adversaries to come too close," she said. "I fully agree."

Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland's prime minister, called it "a win-win-win agreement."