Jens-Frederik Nielsen says the expected agreement benefits all parties and recognizes Greenland’s interests
Jens-Frederik NielsenChairman of Naalakkersuisut (head of the Government of Greenland), quoted in a joint press release of Denmark’s Prime Minister’s Office and Greenland’s Chairman’s Department
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Chairman of Naalakkersuisut, is quoted in a joint press release issued on 18 September 2026 by Denmark’s Prime Minister’s Office and Greenland’s Chairman’s Department as saying it is encouraging that an agreement is about to be made that will ensure and strengthen security for Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, the United States and the Western Alliance, and that it recognizes Greenland’s interests and its place in international cooperation. The release states that, after signature, the agreement will enter into force subject to the necessary national parliamentary procedures. The quotation is taken from the official English version of the Danish-language release.
“It is encouraging that we are about to make an agreement that will ensure and strengthen the security of Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, the United States, and the Western Alliance. The agreement recognizes Greenland’s interests and our place in the international cooperation. It is to the benefit of us all.”
Official statement
Official statement
Official statement
Original post
Reporting
Reporting
Reporting
Other statements by Jens-Frederik Nielsen in this case
- Nielsen says the agreement is “with” Greenland and takes account of Greenlanders' rightsLater: Challenged the characterization
Where this statement fits
Trump’s “permanent control” description of the announced U.S.-Denmark-Greenland security agreement
On September 18, 2026, President Donald Trump announced an agreement with Denmark and Greenland that he said gives the United States “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland.” Danish and Greenlandic officials initially described an expected agreement and emphasized sovereignty and self-determination. On September 22, the White House published an agreement text dated that day. It reaffirms Denmark’s sovereignty and Greenland’s right to self-determination; provides for U.S. defense areas and access under stated procedures; bars non-NATO states from establishing military installations unless the parties agree otherwise; and has no end date. The text says it enters into force only after diplomatic notice of necessary parliamentary procedures. The dispute remains over how Trump’s “permanent control” description compares with the document’s terms.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Official English version of the joint press release, dated 9/18/2026, on the Prime Minister’s Office’s English site; the release states no time of day. Danish original: “Det er glædeligt, at vi er ved at indgå en aftale, der sikrer og styrker sikkerheden for Grønland, Kongeriget Danmark, USA og den vestlige alliance. Aftalen anerkender Grønlands interesser og vores plads i det internationale samarbejde. Det er til gavn for os alle.” The English page renders “glædeligt” as “encouraging”; the Government of Greenland’s English block on naalakkersuisut.gl renders it “joyous”. The paragraph immediately above the quotation says: “Following signature, the agreement will enter into force subject to the necessary national parliamentary procedures.”
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Official statement
About this source
Danish original of the same release, dated 18.09.2026. The paragraph immediately above the quotation reads: “Når aftalen er underskrevet vil den skulle igennem de nødvendige parlamentariske procedurer for at træde i kraft.” (English: after signature the agreement must go through the necessary parliamentary procedures to enter into force.)
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Official statement
About this source
The Government of Greenland’s own publication of the same release, sent by the Chairman’s Department (Formandens Departement); the Danish text is followed by an English block. Last updated September 18, 2026, 22:39:52 UTC. Its English block reads “It is joyous that we are about to make an agreement …” for Nielsen’s first sentence (the Prime Minister’s Office’s English page says “encouraging”; the Danish is “glædeligt”). Together with the Prime Minister’s Office copy and KNR’s description of a “fælles pressemeddelelse”, it shows the release was issued jointly by the two governments.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Original post
About this source
A separate statement from the quoted release text, cited only for the sentence after the quotation, not for the quotation itself. Nielsen’s own post on his politician page: Greenlandic text, then “//”, then Danish. Danish text as posted: “Jeg er glad på Grønlands vegne og at vi er ved at være i mål med en aftale. En aftale der gavner, ikke kun vores alle sammens sikkerhed, men også den fortsatte udvikling her i landet. Aftalen anerkender vores Kongerigets suverænitet og territoriale integritet og det grønlandske folks ret til selvbestemmelse.” (the post reads “vores Kongerigets”). Our translation: “I am glad on Greenland’s behalf and that we are close to reaching an agreement. An agreement that benefits not only all of our security but also the continued development here in the country. The agreement recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our Kingdom and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.” The Greenlandic text was not translated. The post is timestamped Friday 18 September 2026, 6:01 PM EDT (22:01 UTC), which is 00:01 on Saturday in Copenhagen, the reason Reuters says he posted “on Saturday”. KNR and Sermitsiaq.AG print the same Danish text.
Reporting
About this source
Live-updated article by KNR, Greenland’s public broadcaster, first published 18 September 2026 at 20:29 Nuuk time (21:29 UTC); it also embeds the Facebook posts of Nielsen and Egede and describes the joint release and Trump’s Truth Social post. Our translation of the excerpt: “KNR has reached out to the Chairman of Naalakkersuisut, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, but he has no comments and refers to the press release.” The sentence is KNR’s report, not Nielsen’s own words.
Reporting
About this source
Entry in TV 2’s long-running live blog “Kampen om Grønlands fremtid”; the blog’s URL date (2025-01-06) is its start date, and this entry’s own timestamp comes from the page’s structured data. The entry quotes the same paragraph of the joint release and then reports the sentence excerpted. Translation (ours): “TV 2 has reached out to Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who has no comment to us on the matter at present.”
Reporting
About this source
Reuters wire report syndicated by Yahoo News Singapore, published 2026-09-19 11:46 UTC. Cited only for the statement that key details of the agreement had not been made public. It also gives an English rendering of Nielsen’s Facebook line (“The agreement recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our Kingdom and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination”) and says he posted “on Saturday”; the post is dated Friday 18 September (Eastern) on Facebook. The headline is the reporters’ framing.
Before the quotation
On the evening of 18 September 2026 President Trump announced on Truth Social that the United States had entered an agreement with Denmark and Greenland, describing it as giving the United States permanent control over security in Greenland. The Prime Minister’s Office and Greenland’s Chairman’s Department then issued the joint press release, which said the three governments expected to sign an agreement the following week at the UN General Assembly.
After the quotation
Later that night (U.S. Eastern time) Nielsen wrote on his Facebook page that the agreement recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination. KNR reported that he had no comments beyond the press release, and TV 2 reported that he had no comment on the matter at that time. As of 19 September the agreement text had not been published, according to Reuters.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Nielsen’s quoted words welcome the expected agreement as strengthening security for all parties and recognizing Greenland’s interests, without repeating, endorsing or disputing the permanent-control description, and the release in which he is quoted adds that the agreement will enter into force only subject to the necessary national parliamentary procedures (a condition stated in the release text, not in his quoted paragraph). The closest competing label is “Defended or excused”. That loses because he does not affirm the deal as Trump and Rubio describe it: the welcome is framed in terms of Greenland’s interests and coupled with an express approval condition, which makes it “Mixed or conditional”; “Challenged the characterization” also loses because nothing in his words disputes Trump’s wording.
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- Jens-Frederik Nielsen says the expected agreement benefits all parties and recognizes Greenland’s interests
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The Dispute Index. "Jens-Frederik Nielsen says the expected agreement benefits all parties and recognizes Greenland’s interests". First published: 2026-09-19. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1196-jens-frederik-nielsen-chairman-of-naalakkersuisut-is-quoted