STORY::: Ahead of a signing ceremony, Copenhagen residents hope a new US security agreement will ease tensions
“What I think mostly about is how people feel when living in Greenland and the fear that could maybe spark: You don't really know what's going to happen; you don't really know whether you're looking into some sort of invasion or whatever it might be. And hopefully it can put some sort of end to that.”
“As some sort of peace and just that this can sort of calm down so that Greenland can focus on themselves and what they want to do. I think they're probably getting run over a little bit by all of this, so yeah.”
“I find it extremely disturbing because for many reasons. On the one hand, I find it disturbing because it shows the power that Trump is getting in the whole world. I find it disturbing because of the excuses the Danish government is making as to why they are making that agreement with the United States. I'm not saying that they could do anything else. I'm not saying that they could do it differently. I don't know what would happen if she (Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen) said no, but I find it disturbing that, what I find disturbing are the excuses that they make to sign that deal.”
US President Donald Trump is due to meet Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to sign an agreement that, according to sources familiar with the matter, will allow the United States to expand its military footprint on the strategically located Arctic island.
Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, sits between the Arctic and North America and is rich in natural resources.
Trump's refusal earlier this year to rule out military or economic pressure to acquire the island sparked a diplomatic crisis within NATO and prompted months of negotiations involving Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk.
By Gram Slattery and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump and the leaders of Greenland and Denmark signed an agreement on Tuesday 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 during Trump's visit to the UN General Assembly in New York, stops short of Trump's demand that the US adopt Greenland as a US territory to head off the growing Arctic presence of Russia and China.
But the deal does permit a greater US military presence on the icy territory, an option that emerged as Greenland leaders argued against a complete US takeover.
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.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery at the UN and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen; Writing by Steve Holland; Editing Xevi Fontdegloria, Ross Colvin and Rosalba O'Brien)