DOMINANT ANGLE
Oslo is weighing the Greenland agreement in light of its own Arctic border, between the ongoing NATO exercise around the island and the skepticism of an expert regarding the actual scope of Trump's announcements
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
NATO is currently conducting the Arctic Sentry exercise around Greenland, with the participation of Danish F-35s
- 02
Danish Chief of Staff Peter Boysen is advocating for a permanent deployment of soldiers on the island, who have been present on a rotational basis since January
- 03
Expert Hilmar Mjelde warns: Trump "always inflates" his announcements of diplomatic breakthroughs, often reduced to a title without detail
ANALYSIS
Oslo, September 19, 2026. From Norway, the Arctic neighbor of Greenland and NATO ally, the agreement announced Friday evening by Donald Trump is being read primarily through the prism of regional security. On Truth Social, the American president claims that Washington is obtaining "permanent control of security" for the island, "at no cost", and describes the text as an "Infinite Life Agreement", with no expiration date. The Danish government confirmed in the evening that a signature is expected next week, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, before being submitted to the Danish and Greenlandic parliaments.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphasizes that the agreement "recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the kingdom", as well as the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination. The head of the Greenlandic government, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, sees it as a recognition of "Greenland's interests" and its place in international cooperation. Trump announced that the United States will begin building a more significant military presence on the island, and that countries deemed adversaries by Washington will not be able to install bases or make sensitive investments there without written American authorization.
The Norwegian press is linking the announcement to a regional context that is already militarized: NATO is currently conducting the Arctic Sentry exercise around Greenland, with Danish F-35s, while Danish soldiers have been rotating there since January. The Danish Chief of Staff, Peter Boysen, is advocating for a permanent deployment of troops on the island, considering the Danish army's knowledge of the terrain and climate to be valuable for Arctic security.
However, a Norwegian Americanist expert, Hilmar Mjelde, is calling for caution: Trump, he says, always exaggerates the breakthroughs announced in his negotiations, which often turn out to be little more than a title without substance or detail. He recalls that a defense agreement between Washington and Copenhagen already exists, dating back to the Cold War, and that the precise content of the new text remains largely unknown at this stage - including the exact terms of the promised exclusion for non-NATO countries.
