US, Denmark and Greenland sign agreement aimed at strengthening security in the Arctic and North Atlantic

The U.S., Denmark and Greenland signed a new security agreement bolstering the United States' military and security presence on the island. UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed an agreement with Denmark and Greenland aimed at strengthening Arctic and North Atlantic security, easing tensions over his repeated calls for Greenland to become part of the United States.The signing Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York comes days after Trump announced the deal to bolster U.S.

military presence on the vast, icy island but keep it under Danish control. The governments provided few details of the agreement before the signing.“This is tremendous for Europe and for the United States and for everybody,” Trump said just before the agreement was signed. “And for Greenland, it's going to be incredible.”For months, Trump has expressed his desire for Greenland to become part of the United States and issued threats to seize the semiautonomous territory from Denmark, a NATO ally.

On Tuesday, he did not respond to questions about whether a U.S. acquisition of Greenland was off the table.The US has had a presence in Greenland for many yearsOfficials from the U.S., Greenland and Denmark negotiated for months behind the scenes, searching for solutions to address some of Trump’s security concerns about the mineral-rich island.Trump's designs on Greenland strained relations within NATO, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warning a U.S. takeover would amount to the end of the Atlantic alliance.The standoff unsettled many of Greenland's roughly 56,000 people and drove a wedge between the U.S.

and Denmark and its European Union partners, who stepped up security exercises on and monetary support for the island.Trade and hopes for a resource grab have all factored into concerns about Greenland’s future: About two-thirds of its territory sits inside the Arctic Circle, where melting sea ice has opened additional shipping routesThe United States was prominent in Greenland for decades but, since 1945, the U.S. military presence in Greenland has decreased from thousands of soldiers on 17 bases and installations to roughly 200 soldiers on the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest. The base supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S.

and NATO.Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday morning, Trump provided a small window into details of the deal.“We will immediately begin the process of developing a large mil… President Donald Trump has signed an agreement with Denmark and Greenland aimed at strengthening Arctic and North Atlantic security. The signing Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N.

For months, Trump has expressed his desire for Greenland to become part of the United States and issued threats to seize the semiautonomous territory from Denmark, a NATO ally. The US has had a presence in Greenland for many years Officials from the U.S., Greenland and Denmark negotiated for months behind the scenes, searching for solutions to address some of Trump’s security concerns about the mineral-rich island. Trump’s designs on Greenland strained relations within NATO, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warning a U.S.