Trump, Greenland, Denmark sign deal to end Arctic row

US President Donald Trump and the leaders of Greenland and Denmark have signed an agreement that permits a larger US military presence on Greenland and may resolve a standoff over the strategically located and mineral-rich island.

The agreement, signed on Tuesday during Trump's visit to the UN General Assembly in New York, stops short of Trump's demand that the US annex Greenland as a US territory to head off the growing Arctic presence of Russia and China.

But the deal does codify a greater US military presence on the icy territory, an option that emerged as Greenland leaders argued against a complete US takeover.

A text of the deal released after the event said the US can establish a "Golden Dome" defence system in Greenland as a shield against ballistic missile threats. The shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the Arctic island, which is the location of the northernmost US military base.

In his speech to the assembled world leaders at the UN before the signing ceremony, Trump said the agreement gives the US "permanent control over security and all other needs on that territory".

"No US adversary will ever be permitted to establish a military presence in Greenland any more, or make sensitive investments there without our express written approval," Trump said.

Trump signed the agreement along with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen in a trilateral ceremony after Trump gave his UN speech.

Frederiksen described the agreement as a deal that can "last forever" and said it underlines the importance of the NATO alliance and respects Greenland's right to self-determination.

"We believe that it is vital to keep NATO strong, also in the Arctic, where the alliance has a key role to play," he said.

At a press conference after the signing, Nielsen said Greenlanders must now go through a process of restoring trust with the US. Trump's threats to take the island by force had strained relations with both Greenland and Denmark.

Greenland, a former colony and now a semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, sits between the Arctic and North America and holds vast energy resources.

The US already operates Pituffik Space Base in remote northwestern Greenland. The deal opens two new military sites: Narsarsuaq, a former Cold War airbase whose population has dwindled to just a few dozen, and Mestersvig, currently used by the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, a Danish special forces unit.

"We will immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate location. We will be building two very major military bases," Trump said in his UN speech.

Trump's refusal to rule out military or economic force to acquire Greenland triggered a diplomatic crisis in January within NATO and forced Denmark and the island's government into months of intensive negotiations.