Lisa Murkowski says the Greenland agreement respects Greenlandic self-determination and Danish sovereignty and hopes it builds on the 1951 framework
U.S. Senator for Alaska, on her X account (@lisamurkowski)
“I’m encouraged that our nations have reached a breakthrough that respects Greenlandic self-determination and the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark while strengthening our shared security in the Arctic. I’m hopeful that this agreement will build upon the longstanding framework established by the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement, adapting our cooperation to address today’s security challenges while preserving the foundation that has supported our partnership. I have always had faith in the enduring friendship between the United States, Greenland, and Denmark, and I believe this agreement represents an important opportunity to further strengthen our bond.”
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Murkowski's own post on her X account (@lisamurkowski), which murkowski.senate.gov links to. The post is timestamped 15:45:35 UTC and shows no edits. The post links to the Associated Press report headlined "Trump has a deal to build US military presence in Greenland while leaving island in Denmark's hands." We did not save an archive copy of the post.
Before the quotation
President Trump announced the agreement with Denmark and Greenland on Truth Social on the evening of September 18 and said it gives the United States permanent control over security in Greenland. The text had not been released, and the Danish and Greenlandic governments said signing was expected at the UN General Assembly the following week. Murkowski posted the next day.
After the quotation
The agreement’s text was still unpublished when she posted. On September 21, Denmark’s Prime Minister’s Office announced that it will be signed at the United Nations on Tuesday, September 22.
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?
Murkowski welcomes the agreement as a “breakthrough” and “an important opportunity,” but describes it as one that respects Greenlandic self-determination and Danish sovereignty and hopes it will build on the framework of the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement. She neither mentions nor disputes Trump’s description, and her welcome is expressed as encouragement and hope rather than as endorsement of the terms Trump describes. The closest competing label is “Defended or excused”, because she welcomes the deal; it loses because her framing is sovereignty and continuity with the 1951 framework rather than the description Trump gives. “Challenged the characterization” also loses, because she does not dispute that description.
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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“Today, we take another important step together – with full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.”Read statement
“And for Greenland, this is not only an agreement about us. It is a agreement with us. It takes into account the people of Greenland, our rights, our livelihoods, and the development of our country.”Read statement
“And at the same time, the agreement of course respects the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark as well as Greenland's right to self-determination.”Read statement