Mette Frederiksen welcomes expected Greenland security agreement, saying it recognizes Kingdom sovereignty
Prime Minister of Denmark, in a press release of the Danish Prime Minister's Office issued jointly with the Government of Greenland
“I am glad that we are about to make a great agreement for Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, and the United States. An agreement which strengthens our common security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic Area and therefore is great for NATO and Europe as well. And an agreement which at the same time recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.”
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Official English version of the joint press release, hosted by the Danish Prime Minister's Office; the page shows the date 9/18/2026 but no time of day. The quotation is a contiguous substring of the English text. Danish original of the same passage (stm.dk, dated 18.09.2026): 'Jeg er glad for, at der er udsigt til en god aftale for Grønland, Kongeriget Danmark og USA. En aftale, der styrker vores fælles sikkerhed i Arktis og det nordatlantiske område og dermed også er god for NATO og Europa. Og en aftale, der samtidig anerkender Kongerigets suverænitet og territoriale integritet og det grønlandske folks ret til selvbestemmelse.' The Danish opening means 'I am glad that there is the prospect of a good agreement', whereas the official English says 'we are about to make a great agreement'; the quotation follows the official English version. BBC, CBS and ABC print their own English translations of the Danish. The release's lead says the three governments are expected to sign the agreement at the UN General Assembly next week and that it then enters into force subject to the necessary national parliamentary procedures; that lead is not Frederiksen's own quoted wording.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Official statement
About this source
Danish original of the same release (dated 18.09.2026), opened via curl. It is the original-language text behind the official English version; the Danish wording of the full passage is given in the note on the English source. The English of the record is the government's own English version, not an independent translation. KNR, Sermitsiaq and DR quote the same Danish wording.
Reporting
About this source
Read via curl; JSON-LD shows published 2026-09-18 22:09 UTC and last modified 2026-09-19 11:36 UTC (7:36 AM EDT). The on-page headline is the one given here; the page title tag and original headline read 'US and Denmark reach deal over Greenland's security after Trump threats'. BBC calls the document a 'joint statement' with Greenland's premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen (formal title: Chairman of Naalakkersuisut) and quotes its own translation of the Danish ('pleased that there is a prospect of a good agreement'). Used for the joint nature of the statement and for the report that no text has been released.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Danish-language article from Greenland's public broadcaster, opened via curl and updated as events developed; the page is dated 18 September 2026 20:29 Greenland time (21:29 UTC). It first reports Trump's Truth Social post, then that the Prime Minister's Office had just confirmed the agreement, quotes Frederiksen 'in a joint press release with the chairman of Naalakkersuisut' (my translation), and reports that KNR asked Nielsen, who had no comments and referred to the press release. The page does not give the release's own time of day.
Before the quotation
Earlier on September 18, 2026, Trump had announced the agreement on Truth Social, saying it gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland. The joint release followed that announcement.
After the quotation
The release ends 'There are no further comments at this time.', and KNR reported that Nielsen, asked for comment, had none and referred to the release. As of Saturday, September 19, the BBC reported that no text of the agreement had been released; the release itself says signing is expected at the UN General Assembly next week.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Trump’s “permanent control” description of the announced U.S.-Denmark-Greenland security agreement
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case's fixed reference point is Trump's description of the not-yet-signed agreement as giving the United States permanent control over security and all other needs in Greenland. Frederiksen welcomes the expected agreement as great for the three parties, NATO and Europe while stating that it at the same time recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination, and the joint release she is quoted in makes entry into force subject to national parliamentary procedures; she neither mentions nor disputes Trump's description. The closest competing label is defends_or_excuses, because she calls the agreement great. That loses because she does not affirm the description Trump gives of it, and her welcome is paired with the sovereignty and self-determination clause and the release's parliamentary condition, so it is not a clean endorsement of the deal as Trump and Rubio describe it.
- Recorded on
- Published here
Trump’s “permanent control” description of the announced U.S.-Denmark-Greenland security agreement
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full case“I'm looking forward to the ink being dry on the new agreement with the USA. And to us being able to see the content. Until then, I'm skeptical. I don't have much confidence in Trump.”Read statement
“We will have to wait with that until the agreement is published next week. So I don't have many comments on that.”Read statement
“Next week could be a good week… For Greenland, Denmark and the USA alike. Where a long period of uncertainty is hopefully replaced by a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic and thus also our shared security in NATO and Europe - with respect for the Kingdom's red lines.”Read statement