US to reopen Cold War-era base in Greenland and create another

The US plans to reopen a Cold War-era military base in southern Greenland and create another base on the island's east coast under a new agreement with Denmark and Greenland.

Reuters reports this, citing three informed interlocutors. The second American facility is planned to be created at a site currently used by a Danish military dog sled patrol. The parties are to sign the agreement on September 22.

This will be one of the first concrete consequences of the new security agreement for Greenland that the US, Denmark, and the island's government have been preparing in recent months.

The parties announced the agreement on September 18. A joint statement by the governments of Denmark and Greenland said the document is to strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic. The signing is scheduled during the UN General Assembly in New York, after which the document still has to undergo necessary parliamentary procedures.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stressed that the agreement should simultaneously strengthen NATO and European security and preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark, as well as the right of Greenlanders to self-determination. Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stated that the agreement takes into account the island's interests and its place in international cooperation.

Earlier, CBS News, citing a US State Department representative, reported that the new agreement provides for permanent American access to Greenland and overflight rights, which will allow Washington to increase military presence if necessary. According to the TV channel, the agreement also will not allow non-NATO countries to establish military bases on the island and will restrict sensitive investments from states the US considers adversaries.

At the same time, the official joint statement by Denmark and Greenland did not contain such details. Copenhagen and Nuuk publicly emphasized above all the preservation of Denmark's sovereignty and the right of Greenland's population to independently determine their future.

US President Donald Trump said after the announcement of the agreement that Washington had obtained "permanent control" over Greenland's security issues and plans to increase its military presence there. Meanwhile, the formulations published by Denmark and Greenland do not provide for the transfer of sovereignty over the island to the US. CBS News also noted that the agreement does not appear to be a transfer of territory to American control.

The US military already has a permanent presence on the island. In the northwestern part of Greenland, the Pituffik space base operates, which is used for missile attack warning, missile defense, and space surveillance. It originates from American military infrastructure created after the US and Denmark concluded a defense agreement for Greenland in 1951.

During the Cold War, American military presence on the island was significantly larger, but later most facilities were closed or transferred. Now the new agreement creates a basis for re-expansion of American military infrastructure in the Arctic.

Based on materials from: Reuters, Government of Denmark, CBS News