Trump’s mysterious Greenland deal with NATO draws heat from Denmark

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (CN) — A day after President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte agreed on an unspecified framework to boost security in Greenland, details of the deal remain a question mark for the public Thursday.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, its foreign affairs and defense minister have all held talks with Rutte around the time when the unknown deal with Trump was made Wednesday evening at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

But Danish politicians are updating very sparingly about the situation.

“NATO is fully aware of the position of the Kingdom of Denmark. We can negotiate on everything political; security, investments, economy. But we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty,” Frederiksen said in a statement.

“I have been informed that this has not been the case either. And of course, only Denmark and Greenland themselves can make decisions on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland,” she added, confirming already having talks with Rutte after the vague framework deal was made.

Just hours before, Trump opened his Davos visit with a speech where he ensured that he did not “have to use force” regarding the acquisition of Greenland. He continued to insist that American control over the Arctic island is a necessity for U.S. and global security.

With weeks of intensifying talks about an American takeover of the world’s biggest island, Trump has faced resistance from a united Greenland, Denmark, European leaders, U.S. citizens and congressional members.

Trump toned down his acquisition talk after a vague framework deal, which includes matters of crucial minerals and security such as incorporating Greenland in the Golden Dome missile defense shied planned by the White House. However, Rutte has since denied there were discussions about crucial minerals.

The shortest path for Russian missiles to reach Washington goes through Greenland, in the Arctic region. Greenland is a semiautonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, where the Scandinavian country represents matters on all foreign affairs and security policies.

Melting ice in the region creates shorter commercial shipping routes and exposes rare minerals vital for technology production. That has attracted Chinese interest.

The apparent deal with Rutte made Trump take back his EU tariff increase threat, which he planned to impose should the U.S. not be gifted Greenland. Trump was questioned whether Denmark agreed to the framework deal.

“I assume they did because he very much represents and appears to be a strong leader, Mark Rutte. And I assume he has spoken to them,” said Trump, mentioning that the deal will last “forever.”

However, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen offered a different view Thursday morning, claiming Rutte has not been negotiating an agreement on behalf of Denmark.

“It’s not like Mark Rutte has been negotiating an agreement on behalf of Denmark, he hasn’t," Poulsen said. “I also know that from the dialogues I have with Mark Rutte, I also spoke to him late last night.”

In Nuuk on Thursday, the Greenland Prime Minister Niels-Frederik Nielsen invited the world press to a news conference about the situation. He repeated the Arctic island’s stance on wanting to remain within the Kingdom of Denmark, aiming to boost cooperation with the EU and heighten security in collaboration with NATO.

Nielsen did not know the contents of the framework deal between Trump and Rutte, he said, but was open to negotiating Greenlandic security matters through the right channels in a respectful tone. He is open to increasing military presence in Greenland.

“But sovereignty is a red line. Our integrity and borders are definitely a red line that no one must cross,” said Nielsen, who welcomed Trump’s comments Wednesday. “I am happy and satisfied with what he said.”

According to Troels Bøggild, a lecturer at Aarhus University’s Institute of Political Science, Rutte has likely not promised anything beyond what was already offered by Danish and Greenlandic leaders after a White House meeting last week with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“This is a huge deescalation of the conflict from Trump’s side, and basically a deal that Løkke, Vance and Rubio already agreed on in Washington:To continue talks on U.S. interests and presence without breaking Denmark’s territorial integrity. Trump himself wants the honor for such an agreement and has therefore traveled to Switzerland to mention the deal as another personal victory,” said Bøggild.

The professor reads Trump’s situation as the president realizing the increasing pressure in the U.S. and from NATO allies is too much for him to continue recent rhetoric about overtaking Greenland.

“The time since the Washington meeting (and in reality, all the time spent on talking about Greenland under his presidential term) has been wasted in that aspect, that Denmark all this time opened to have the dialogue and cooperation that Trump and Rutte cleared the way for,” said Bøggild.

EU leaders convened in Brussels to primarily discuss Trump’s tariff warnings, which eventually changed character given the new situation. Frederiksen met the press in Brussels shortly after arriving from the U.K., where she received support from Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“We have an agreement on defense from 1951. If we can expand it further, it is certainly not something we reject from either the Danish or Greenlandic side,” Frederiksen said about the agreement that secures American military access in Greenland, with the only catch of consulting with Denmark and the Arctic island before doing so.

Frederiksen shrugged a shoulder and dodged when asked what the newsworthy aspect of Trump and Rutte’s deal was. Still, Trump took a victory lap in a Thursday post on his social media site Truth Social.

“Heading back to D.C.," Trump wrote. “It was an incredible time in Davos. The Greenland structure is being worked on, and will be amazing for the U.S.A., and the Board of Peace is something that the World has never seen before — Very special. So many good things happening!”

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