The US and Denmark have held recent talks on expanding the American military presence in Greenland, including a proposal for 3 new bases in the island’s south. [1, 2] US officials are also weighing whether the sites could be designated as sovereign US territory. [1, 2]
The talks come after months of tension over Greenland, following Donald Trump’s January remarks that the US should "own" the island and that it could happen the "easy way" or "the hard way". [1, 2] The proposed bases would focus mainly on monitoring possible Russian and Chinese maritime activity in the GIUK Gap region, according to the report. [1]
The White House confirmed high-level talks with Greenland and Denmark but declined to discuss the details, while Denmark’s Foreign Ministry said diplomatic talks with the US were ongoing. [1, 2] A Danish foreign ministry spokesperson said: "There is an ongoing diplomatic track with the United States. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not go into further detail at this time,". [1]
US officials have not raised seizing control of Greenland itself during the talks, and no final agreement has been reached. The number of bases could still change. [1, 2]
An Anadolu Agency report on Tuesday summarized the BBC account of the negotiations, which the sources said had been progressing in recent months. [2]
