US to open two military bases in Greenland under new deal with Denmark
Denmark, Greenland and the United States are expected to sign their new agreement at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City
The US plans to re-establish a Cold War-era military base in southern Greenland and set up another on the east coast, under a deal to be signed with Denmark and Greenland on Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the matter.
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The sites are Narsarsuaq, whose population has dwindled to a few dozen people since the US closed its Bluie West One military base in the 1950s, and Mestersvig, a military outpost used by the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, a Danish special forces unit, two people told Reuters.
Denmark, Greenland and the United States are expected to sign their new agreement at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City at 10:30am on Tuesday.
The text of the agreement has not been made public and the three people familiar with the deal, speaking on condition of anonymity, said its details will not be finalised until it is signed.
Read more: Denmark says Nato will share responsibility for Arctic security under new Greenland deal
The governments of Denmark and Greenland did not immediately respond to a request by Reuters for comment.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment on the details of the agreement, repeating an earlier statement that its signing on Tuesday would "secure and defend the security of Greenland and the United States."
Denmark says the agreement puts Arctic security under the watch of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the military defence alliance, rather than leaving it solely to the US and Denmark.
The deal follows months of pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has long said he wants the US to control Greenland and has at times refused to rule out military or economic force to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
The idea has been rejected by an overwhelming majority of Greenlanders, polling shows.
Trump's threats, which peaked in January, triggered a diplomatic crisis within Nato and pushed Denmark and Greenland into negotiations with Washington aimed at defusing the pressure.
During the Cold War, the US maintained 17 military installations and more than 10,000 personnel in Greenland. Today only Pituffik Space Base remains, with some 150 US military personnel.