Denmark, Greenland, US to sign Arctic security agreement

Denmark, its autonomous territory of Greenland and the United States will sign an agreement in New York on Tuesday to strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic region, the Danish Prime Minister's Office said on Monday.

The agreement will be signed by Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and U.S. President Donald Trump, according to the office's statement.

The signing ceremony is expected to take place at United Nations headquarters at 10:30 local time (1430 GMT), the statement said, but did not disclose the agreement's specific terms.

Also, on Monday, Frederiksen addressed questions about whether the deal is connected to Trump's previous public remarks expressing a desire for the United States to have Greenland. She said Denmark has insisted from the outset that it is a sovereign state whose territorial integrity must be respected.

Frederiksen added that, under international law, the people of Greenland have an inviolable right to self-determination, which serves as a foundation of the agreement. She said that as long as she remains prime minister, Denmark will not cede sovereignty.

She further noted that the agreement is designed to be beneficial for Denmark, Greenland, and the United States, adding that the parties would not be moving forward with the signing if it were not advantageous for all involved.

Reaffirming that the pact is strictly a defense and security policy agreement rather than a handover of Greenland's sovereignty, Frederiksen said that the precise details of the deal will be made public following the official signing ceremony.

Under a defense agreement signed by Denmark and the United States in 1951 and amended in 2004, the U.S. military already has broad authorization to maintain personnel and facilities in Greenland, including the Pituffik Space Base.

Denmark, Greenland, US to sign Arctic security agreement

German Chancellor and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz on Monday called his party's state election defeat in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern a "heavy blow," while ruling out any internal leadership challenge.

Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Merz admitted that the CDU failed to provide satisfactory answers to public concerns.

However, he dismissed allegations of an internal rebellion, stressing that there had been "no personnel debate" regarding his leadership.

On Sunday, the CDU secured only 4.9 percent of the vote in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern election, failing to enter the state parliament for the first time. Meanwhile, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the state election with 38.2 percent of the vote, followed by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) with 35.5 percent.

Noting the center-left SPD's intention to stick with the coalition in Berlin, Merz said his party also fully supported the federal governing coalition.

The two parties would discuss the path forward for their cooperation, Merz said, adding that he would also hold talks with federal state leaders in the near future.

The German Bundestag has a total of 630 seats. Following the 2025 German federal election, the CDU/CSU alliance won 208 seats and subsequently formed a coalition government with the SPD, which holds 120 seats and is the third-largest party in parliament, making Merz German chancellor.

It is worth noting that, since all major German parties currently rule out the possibility of forming a coalition government with the far-right AfD, the party, which holds 150 seats and is the second-largest party in parliament, serves as the largest opposition party in the Bundestag.

Merz vows coalition stability after state election defeat