STORY: :: Denmark is close to a U.S. defense deal despite the dispute over Greenland
:: Its parliament took an important step towards ratifying the deal on Friday
:: April 11, 2025
:: Copenhagen, Denmark
:: Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Danish Foreign Minister
“It is the USA that ensures the safety of NATO and Europe and thus also Denmark’s security. And therefore the government in no way wants to turn its back on the USA.”
:: Polls have shown opposition to the deal, which would expand the U.S. military’s rights in the country
Recent opinion polls have shown significant opposition among Danes to the 10-year pact which, if ratified, would grant the U.S. military broad access to station troops and store equipment on Danish soil.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s insistence that the United States take over Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, for security reasons has soured relations between the two traditionally close NATO allies.
The Danish and Greenland governments have both ruled out yielding the huge, resource-rich Arctic island to U.S. control.