Denmark has called on the United States to respect Greenland’s laws as American interests pursue resource exploration on the island. The Danish Foreign Ministry made the point on Wednesday, responding to President Donald Trump’s claim that oil, gas and mineral extraction will soon start there.
The ministry stressed that the agreement reached last month between Denmark, Greenland and the US did not change the rules governing extraction. It said the deal gives American investors no preferential treatment over investors from other NATO and EU countries when it comes to natural resources. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, described the semi-autonomous Danish territory as his new Greenland and said major exploration was getting ready to begin, without giving details.
Terms of the Greenland agreement signed in New York
Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed the 10-page agreement on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 22. The deal ended months of friction over Trump’s threats to gain control of Greenland.
It allows the US to modernise and expand its activities at Pituffik Space Base, a remote American military site in northwest Greenland. It also opens the way for two new military bases and Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defence system. While it reaffirms Danish sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination, it grants no rights for mining or drilling.
Greenland’s oil ban and a Texas firm’s permit review
Greenland banned uranium mining and all future oil exploration in 2021. The government is now reviewing whether Greenland Energy, a Texas company, can use permits issued before that ban took effect.
The company said in August that it planned to drill for oil in 2027 at an untested basin on the island’s east coast. It did not yet hold its own permit for the project.
Experts question US intentions and the deal’s clarity
Danish security policy adviser Jacob Kaarsbo said Trump’s comments could suggest that his desire to control Greenland has not changed. He said it was “extremely dangerous” to view the agreement as having altered Trump’s intentions.
Mikkel Olesen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said details on mining and exploration rights remained unclear. He added that information coming mostly from the US side should be taken “with a grain of salt”.
Richard Weitz, a fellow at the NATO Defense College in Rome, said Trump backed down and accepted less than he sought. Still, Weitz argued, the president gained nearly everything he wanted apart from formal annexation.
