Greenland OKs Denmark, US Security Deal11/04 06:39

   

   ILULISSAT, Greenland (AP) -- Greenlandic lawmakers on Tuesday voted to 
approve an agreement between the Arctic island, Denmark and the United States 
to strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic after months of 
pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump seeking to control the semiautonomous 
territory of a NATO ally.

   The trilateral deal paves the way for more U.S. bases in Greenland and eases 
tensions over Trump's repeated calls for the vast island to become part of the 
United States. The agreement's goal is to bolster the U.S. military presence on 
Greenland but keep the self-governing island under Danish control. It would 
still apply if Greenland eventually chooses independence.

   Greenlandic lawmakers voted 16-0 for the agreement, with seven abstentions, 
in the capital city of Nuuk.

   Some 570 kilometers (350 miles) north of Nuuk, Nukaaka Lund-Mathaeussen 
hoped that the deal's approval means the Trump administration "got what they 
wanted."

   "Hopefully after this we won't be getting underhanded threats from the 
American government," the 28-year-old Ilulissat resident told The Associated 
Press in Ilulissat after the vote.

   William Tukula, a 34-year-old chef in Ilulissat, said he'd seen posts on 
Facebook from older Greenlanders who were "a little bit scared about Trump and 
soldiers."

   The U.S. president had previously said he would not rule out the use of 
military force to seize control of Greenland because he declared U.S. control 
of it to be vital to American national security, though he also underlined his 
support for Greenlanders determining their own future. He later backed down 
from any threat.

   The White House had no immediate comment on the vote, but the State 
Department said it "marks another major victory for American national security."

   "This administration is securing America's strategic interests in the 
Arctic, strengthening our national defense and ensuring this critical region 
remains free of adversarial threats," it said in a post on X.

   Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime 
Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed the security agreement in September on 
the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

   Nielsen, in a post on Facebook after Tuesday's vote, said Greenlanders stood 
united over the last few months despite the geopolitical tensions to show the 
world that the island decides its own fate.

   "We must be able to cooperate with other countries," he wrote, adding that 
the cooperation must respect "our people, our country and our rights."

   He added: "Greenland is our country. Greenland will always be our country."

   Danish lawmakers are set to debate it later this month. The deal will "enter 
into force" once the "necessary parliamentary processes of the Kingdom of 
Denmark, in conjunction with Greenland, have been completed."

   Despite the Greenland parliament's approval, Lund-Mathaeussen said some 
residents on the island felt worried and powerless. "What can a regular guy 
like me do about the diplomatic engine?" the municipality worker said. "It's a 
big machine, and being a small person here in Greenland -- it's hard to have 
any influences on those things."

   Nukaaraq Thomsen, a 43-year-old incineration plant worker from Ilulissat, 
said the trilateral deal still won't benefit Greenlanders.

   "My opinion is it's safe for Greenland. But not for the people -- only for 
the land," Thomsen told the AP on Tuesday.

   In expanding its military presence on the island, the agreement says 
Washington is to award contracts for goods and services related to setting up, 
maintaining or dismantling such bases "to Greenlandic sources to the maximum 
extent possible."

   But Lars Erik Gabrielsen, mayor of Avannaata Municipality, is not convinced 
that Greenlanders will see any advantages.

   "It's a good deal for Denmark, NATO. Not a good deal for us," he said. 
"There are no benefits, no money to our society. Zero."