Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen confirmed on May 12 that talks with the United States about increasing the US military presence in Greenland are ongoing but no deal has been reached yet [1]. "We are negotiating but we don't have an agreement," Nielsen said, adding that "it's difficult for me to be concrete about the conversations in the working group but we have taken some steps in the right direction" [2].
The US aims to open three new military bases in southern Greenland, expanding beyond the current single active base, the Pituffik Space Base in the northwest of the territory [2, 1]. A 1951 defense pact, last updated in 2004, permits the US to increase military deployments and installations on Greenland with prior notification to both Greenland and Denmark [2].
Negotiations are led by a working group including US State Department official Michael Needham, Danish ambassador Jesper Moller Sorensen, and Greenlandic diplomat Jacob Isbosethsen [2]. The group has met five times since January 2026 to discuss the US position and plans for military expansion [2, 1].
Nielsen said the US has criticized Greenland for not doing enough on national security and surveillance in the Arctic region. "From the beginning, one of the issues has been that they don't think we do enough in terms of national security and surveillance in our region, so security and more military presence in Greenland is part of the discussions," he said [1].
However, Greenland has made clear it demands respect and will not compromise on its sovereignty. "Our only demand is respect," Nielsen said [2]. He acknowledged that US interest in Greenland remains strong. "The desire is not gone and we need to make some kind of deal in that working group and I am positive that we can figure it out," he added [1].
US President Donald Trump publicly argued that control of Greenland is vital for US national security and warned that China or Russia could gain influence if the US did not act [2]. However, Trump backed down from earlier threats to seize Greenland in January 2026, which led to initial diplomatic talks between Denmark and Greenland in Washington [2]. Greenland, Denmark, and the US agreed to hold high-level talks to resolve tensions earlier this year [1].
The negotiations continue amid a change in Denmark’s government following March’s general election and continued US public disclosure of its Greenland military plans, including testimony from General Gregory Guillot in March outlining the plan for three new bases [2, 1].
The working group is expected to continue discussions in the coming months to find a resolution on the US military’s expanded presence in Greenland. No final timetable for agreement has been announced.
