Copenhagen, Denmark - The US will build two military bases in southern and eastern Greenland under a wide-ranging security agreement signed Tuesday between the US, Greenland, and Denmark.

Since returning to the White House in January 2025, President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that the US needed to control Greenland for strategic reasons, even refusing to rule out the use of force at one point, alarming NATO ally Denmark and sparking fierce pushback from the alliance.

On Tuesday, Washington, Copenhagen, and Nuuk signed a 10-page agreement in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, giving the US control over security in Denmark's autonomous Arctic territory.

The prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland expressed satisfaction at finally having a deal in place.

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"With this agreement, it is our clear assessment that the Kingdom of Denmark stands in a better place than we did yesterday. And tomorrow is a new day, and as everyone knows, we live in uncertain times," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters after the signing.

"I hope the agreement will bring more peace of mind in Greenland, because it has been a tough time," she noted.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen echoed that sentiment.

"This is a step in a really good direction," he said. "But back home we need to rebuild trust, and that will be a process for us."

Under the deal – which reaffirmed "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark" and recognized Greenland's "right to self-determination" – Washington will establish military bases in Narsarsuaq in the south of the island and Mestersvig in the east, in addition to the Pituffik base it already operates in the north.

In a section aimed at barring US adversaries China and Russia from gaining a foothold on Greenland, the agreement blocks non-NATO, non-EU countries from strategic sectors on the island.