US-Denmark Greenland standoff ends. But NATO has paid a price

3 min readSep 22, 2026 06:05 AM IST First published on: Sep 22, 2026 at 06:05 AM IST

On the face of it, the deal between the US, Denmark and Greenland, announced last Friday, does not appear to confer on Washington powers substantially greater than those it already enjoys under the Greenland Defence Agreement. Signed in 1951 against the backdrop of the emerging Soviet threat, that pact gave the US broad rights to construct and operate military facilities in Greenland, as well as access to its airspace and waters for military purposes. The new deal may expand the US military presence and give Washington a veto over third-party military activity and certain sensitive investments, but much of what President Donald Trump is presenting as “permanent control” appears to have roots in the existing arrangement. What the deal does, however, is seemingly close a chapter of repeated coercion and intimidation by Trump over his desire to “own” Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.

The full details of the deal are not yet public, but it appears to offer something to all parties. Trump, with an approval rating well underwater, gets to present it as a diplomatic victory to American voters ahead of the November midterm elections. For Greenland and Denmark, it appears to remove, at least for now, the threat of a US attempt to take control of the territory — no small achievement given that only nine months ago, Denmark and other NATO allies deployed troops to Greenland in response to Trump’s threat of a takeover. The deal’s true significance, if Trump’s overtures to Russia and his criticism of Europe over the past 18 months are anything to go by, lies in what it could mean for the unity and coherence of NATO — particularly at a time when Europe is bracing for the possibility of a Russian escalation on its eastern flank.

Nevertheless, no country wants to be overly dependent on an ally that can issue threats, demand negotiations and then extract concessions. Diversification is the natural response, as seen in Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent announcement that Canada would seek some form of associate membership in the EU. Even though the new agreement puts the immediate Greenland crisis to rest, a worrying precedent has been set. The trust lost in the process will not be regained quickly.