‘Going to have total access to Greenland’: Trump says US is getting everything it wants

President Donald Trump said that the US will have “full access” to Greenland, and that the framework is being negotiated. As he wrapped up his trip to World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos, Trump indicated that full ownership of the island might not be possible as he previously insisted upon.  

"We will have everything we want. We're getting everything we want at no cost…I’m not going to have to pay anything. We’re going to have total access to Greenland. We’ll have all the military access that we want," Trump told Fox Business.

Of US ownership. Trump said, "Well, I don't know if I could say that, but it could be. It's possible. Anything's possible."

Details of the new agreement remained unclear. Officials familiar with the talks noted that a framework existed, but precise elements were unresolved.

Meanwhile, talks are ongoing to update the 1951 agreement, but neither the exact terms nor the extent of any changes have been disclosed. A source told news agency Reuters that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Trump agreed to further discussions involving the US, Denmark, and Greenland. The talks aim to revise the 1951 agreement governing US military presence and consider restrictions on Chinese and Russian investment in Greenland.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte commented that further work rests with NATO's senior commanders. He stated, "I have no doubt we can do this quite fast. Certainly, I would hope for 2026, I hope even early in 2026," expressing optimism about the timeline but not the specifics.

Denmark stressed that its sovereignty over Greenland remained non-negotiable, with no discussion of ceding control as part of any military arrangement. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas remarked that the European Union's relations with the US had "taken a big blow" amid these recent developments.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said, "I don't know what there is in the agreement, or the deal, about my country," and emphasised, "We are ready to discuss a lot of things and we are ready to negotiate a better partnership and so on. But sovereignty is a red line." Nielsen further asserted, "We cannot cross the red lines. We have to respect our territorial integrity. We have to respect international law and sovereignty."