Greenland: Trump says he has a pre-agreement with NATO that will last “forever” (and will include rare earths)

The US president announced a “fantastic agreement concept”, which will include rights to rare earths from Greenland, and removed the threat of tariffs on eight European countries. But not everyone believes him. Denmark refuses to sell territory, Putin sets price.

US President Donald Trump raised the against several European countries, this Wednesday and announced the preparation of an outline for a future agreement on Greenland after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

“Based on this agreement, I will not impose the tariffs that were scheduled to come into force on February 1st”, stressed the US President on his social network, Truth Social, without providing details about the agreement in question.

Trump announced in Davos, Switzerland, that Washington is working with NATO on an agreement over Greenland that “it’s truly fantastic” and will last “forever”.

“After a very productive meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, we defined the framework for a future agreement regarding Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic region. This solution, if realized, will be excellent for the United States of America and for all NATO countries. Based on this understanding, I will not impose the tariffs that would come into force on February 1”, Trump wrote on social media, adding that “Vice President JD Vance, the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and others as needed will be responsible for negotiations and will report directly to you.

What deal is this?

Later, Trump said in an interview that there was “a concept of agreement”, without giving many details. AND Mark Rutteleader of NATO, said that it was not discussed between European leaders and Trump whether the Greenland would remain part of the Kingdom of Denmark under this future agreement.

But the agreement, according to Trump, will include US access to rare earths and valuable minerals.

“They will be involved in mineral rights, and so will we”said Trump about NATO and the United States, still in the interview with CNBC.

In turn, the Denmarkthrough the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, limited himself to saying that “the day ended better than it started” and again rejected negotiations for the sale of Greenlandshortly after the North American President had — although demanding an agreement to acquire the autonomous Danish territory.

In statements published by the Danish newspaper Berlingske, the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs ruled out this possibility and indicated that Copenhagen “will maintain the agreements reached” in the recent meeting at the White House with the North American Vice President, JD Vance, and the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

“The agreement we reached in Washington last week is start high-level discussions to jointly address the situation in Greenland, respecting the red line of Greenlandic sovereignty“, declared Rasmussen.

“These are not serious negotiations; they are two men who talked”said deputy Sascha Faxe to . “There can be no agreement without Greenland in the negotiations.”

According to reports cited by , the agreement could grant the US sovereignty over small areas of Greenland where military bases are located. The Telegraph advances, based on anonymous sources, which also It would potentially allow the US to explore rare earth minerals without needing permission from Denmark.

Additionally, Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, Danish parliamentarian for Greenland, stated this Wednesday that the idea that NATO should have any influence over the territory’s sovereignty or minerals is “completely out of the question”.

Trump also announced in the same publication “additional discussions” about the anti-missile defense system “Golden Dome” regarding Greenland and added that more information will be provided as negotiations progress. In this aspect, Denmark was also open to negotiations.

“The Kingdom of Denmark wishes to continue constructive dialogue with allies on how we can strengthen security in the Arctic, including the US Golden Dome,” he said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Putin says how much Greenland is worth (but distances himself)

Russian President Vladimir Putin set the price for Greenland between 200 and one billion euros.

“The area of ​​Greenland is slightly larger (than that of the Alaska peninsula, which Russia sold to the USA in the 19th century) (…). This means that, if we compare it with the cost of purchasing Alaska by the USA, the price of Greenland would be around 200 to 250 million dollars”, he said during a meeting of the Russian Security Council, the second called by him this week.

“If we compare it to the price of gold at the time, this value would be higher, certainly closer to a billion dollars. I believe that the United States can reach this value”, he added.

Putin highlighted that Russia has historical experience in this matter with Alaska salewhich Washington purchased in 1867 from Tsar Alexander II for 7.2 million dollars, at 4.73 dollars per square kilometer (approximately 158 million dollars at the current exchange rate, according to the Russian president). He also recalled that Denmark has always treated Greenland as a colony and in a “quite harsh, not to say cruel” way, according to statements cited by the Russian state news agency TASS.

The Russian leader also recalled that this issue “does not concern” Russia and expressed his conviction that Washington and Copenhagen will reach an agreement.

Putin recalled that, when the USA bought Alaska, the American press classified the operation as “madness”.

“But the Alaska acquisition is probably viewed differently now in the United States, as are President Andrew Johnson’s actions,” he further noted.

Russian officials, state media and pro-Kremlin bloggers have reacted with a mix of joy, satisfaction and caution about the controversy surrounding Greenland. Some called Trump’s move historic, while others said it weakens the European Union and NATO and that diverts some of the West’s attention from Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Commentators further noted that the possible U.S. acquisition of Denmark’s self-governing, mineral-rich island brought security and economic concerns for Russiawhich seeks to assert its influence over vast areas of the Arctic.

Moscow has moved to increase its military presence in the region, which is home to its Northern Fleet and a site where the Soviet Union carried out nuclear tests.

The government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta compared the situation on Sunday to “‘planetary’ events such as the abolition of slavery by Abraham Lincoln (…) or the territorial conquests of the Napoleonic Wars.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference on Tuesday that Denmark’s control over Greenland was a vestige of the colonial past.

“In principle, Greenland is not an integral part of Denmark”, he analyzed, also establishing parallels between Trump’s attempt to annex Greenland and Putin’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.

The illegal seizure of the peninsula in 2014 is not recognized by most of the world. “Crimea is no less important for the security of the Russian Federation than Greenland is for the United States,” he said.