COPENHAGEN, Oct 12 (Reuters) – A majority of Greenlandic lawmakers signalled support for the Arctic island’s recent security agreement with US President Donald Trump in a debate on Monday, although some opposition party members questioned the deal’s economic value.
The United States, Denmark and Greenland last month signed the agreement, aimed at ending tensions after Trump’s repeated threats to take control of the strategically located and mineral-rich island.
The agreement is subject to a second reading in parliament before being put to a vote, with lawmakers expected to pass the legislation.
The deal expands the US military’s role in Greenland, paving the way for two new military bases and Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defence system, while reaffirming Danish sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination.
The chair of opposition party Naleraq, Pele Broberg, said many details still remained unclear on how the agreement would work in practice.
“The US is granted extensive rights in our country. The people of Greenland are not guaranteed any fixed payment for those rights,” Broberg said in the parliamentary debate in Greenland’s capital Nuuk.
The government parties, which have a majority of seats, defended the deal.
Former Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt of the governing coalition’s Demokraatit said Greenland had secured “massive” protection without having to pay for it, while winning recognition as an autonomous nation.
Foreign Minister Mute Egede said the deal was “a huge step forward” that could not be measured in terms of money.
Erik Jensen, chair of the Siumut party, said his party backed the deal.
“For several years, Siumut has been campaigning to ensure that agreements concerning Greenland are no longer concluded without Greenlandic participation… That is why we are satisfied,” Jensen said.
(Reporting by Louise Rasmussen, Soren Jeppesen and Agnieszka Olenska, editing by Terje Solsvik, Alexandra Hudson)
