Signal No. 151 · Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig

Mette Frederiksen, Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Donald Trump signed the agreement on Tuesday afternoon at the United Nations, three days after the Danish prime minister's office confirmed it had been reached. The Danish text, published by the Statsministeriet, runs to twelve articles and amends the 1951 Defence of Greenland Agreement and its later supplements. Article IV permits the United States to modernise and expand its activities at Pituffik Space Base and "to establish a further defence area at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig", on modalities and technical details still to be agreed; Narsarsuaq in the south was the wartime Bluie West One airfield, Mestersvig on the east coast is the Sirius patrol's station. Either party may propose further areas; if the Permanent Committee set up in 1991 cannot agree within 90 days, the question rises to permanent-secretary and then ministerial level.

Article V gives US requests for unmanned installations outside the defence areas an expedited approval procedure; Article VI grants US ships, aircraft and forces free movement between the defence areas across Greenland and its territorial sea, overflight and landing anywhere on the island, and undersea access, exercised, the article adds, with the greatest possible respect for the Greenlandic way of life. Article IX bars any state that is not a NATO member from manned or unmanned military installations or a persistent military presence in Greenland unless the parties agree otherwise. Article X bars investors from states that are not NATO members, NATO partners or EU members from control, significant influence or non-public information in sensitive sectors, critical infrastructure and resource extraction among them, unless the parties agree the activity poses no threat; Greenland enforces it through its investment-screening law, with Danish authorities consulting the United States.

The preamble names US military access "including through the establishment of a Golden Dome defence system" as a shared interest. Article XI: "This agreement has no end date" and can be changed only by joint consent; should Greenland become independent, Copenhagen and Nuuk undertake to ensure that the new state commits to remain in NATO, applying to join if necessary, and assumes every obligation under the agreement. Article XII puts entry into force at the date of a diplomatic note confirming that "the necessary parliamentary procedures in the Kingdom of Denmark together with Greenland" are complete. The English text prevails.

Trump said the agreement gives the United States "permanent control over security" in Greenland and that "no U.S. adversary will ever be permitted to establish a military presence in Greenland any more, or make sensitive investments there without our express written approval". Frederiksen, to Trump, in DR's account: "You have been very clear that you do not want adversaries to come too close. I agree with you on that. With this agreement we ensure that it does not happen." Nielsen called it "a win-win-win agreement" and said it "should put to rest any doubt today and in the future about where Greenland's loyalty lies". The preamble reaffirms the Kingdom's sovereignty and territorial integrity and the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination, and cites the 2009 Self-Government Act's procedure for independence.

Mark Rutte, on X on Tuesday, said the agreement, "along with NATO's growing role in securing this vital region, enhances our collective security and supports a safer and more stable future for us all". Emmanuel Macron, on Sunday at Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, in RTÉ's account: "I simply note that Danish sovereignty is respected, that international law is respected, and that this is what we were asking for. So it's a good thing." No statement from Berlin on the signing was found by the time of this edition.

Latvia blocked Monday's provisional deal and gave way on Tuesday afternoon, opting for what Euronews calls a constructive abstention. The Kyiv Independent's diplomats have Belgium, Lithuania and Estonia abstaining as well; Euronews names only Latvia. Ambassadors then sealed the renewal of the individual listings to 22 September 2029, with Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman removed and their asset freezes and travel bans lifted. Reuters: "The decision will only be formally adopted once a process known as a written procedure has been completed." The Irish presidency's spokesperson: "today's decision to renew on a 36 month basis enhances the durability and predictability of the EU sanctions framework". Latvia and Estonia will now sanction both men under national law, the Kyiv Independent reports.

Andris Kulbergs, Latvia's prime minister: "This was not a choice between a good and a bad solution, but between a bad and a much worse one." Margus Tsahkna, Estonia's foreign minister: "Estonia did not support lifting sanctions on these two prominent Russian businessmen." Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine's foreign minister: "Moscow is celebrating because it got what it wanted: a sense of impunity, the humiliation of the EU, and division among Europeans." One EU diplomat, to AFP: "It really sends the signal that you can blackmail your way to delisting."

The Seimas voted on Tuesday, 99 in favour, 13 against and five abstaining, to take up the amendment deleting Article 137 of the constitution, which prohibits weapons of mass destruction and foreign military bases on Lithuanian territory. Fifty members registered the amendment on 3 July. The constitution requires two votes of at least 94 of the 141 members, at least three months apart; LRT gives the dates as 6 October and 12 January 2027. Laurynas Kasčiūnas, of the opposition Homeland Union: "We are the only country in the region that has this restriction. Latvia does not have it, Estonia does not have it, Poland does not have it." Remigijus Motuzas, who chairs the foreign affairs committee for the governing Social Democrats: "Lithuania must clearly show our allies and adversaries that we will defend our independence by all means." Remigijus Žemaitaitis of Nemunas Dawn argued the change needs a referendum.

President Gitanas Nausėda said on Tuesday: "Great news for Lithuania – US troops will continue to be stationed in our country. We are grateful to President Donald Trump and the US administration for this decision, which is important not only for Lithuania's security but for the security of the entire region." His adviser Deividas Matulionis told LRT radio the rotation was "already on trains" and expected "in the near future"; on its size, "the Americans have not yet given us the number. The only thing I can say is that it will not be lower than before." Asked whether the decision was tied to Belarusian fertiliser exports: "No, definitely not, there were no conditions." The previous rotation, more than 1,000 soldiers, left in the summer; Lithuania has said it can host up to 1,500. On Thursday Kęstutis Budrys, the foreign minister, had expected a decision in "days, perhaps the coming weeks" after Marco Rubio's assurance that the gap "will not last long".

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the defence minister, said on Tuesday that his Wednesday meeting with Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon had been postponed: "There was a request from the American side, it seems on account of the visit of the Chinese leader." Deputy ministers Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka and Paweł Zalewski travel to Washington instead; a new date is to be agreed.

In the afternoon Kosiniak-Kamysz and Marcin Kierwiński, the interior minister, briefed at the Dorohusk crossing. Six crossings in the Lublin and Subcarpathian voivodeships have been reinforced with air-defence positions and daily air cover; Patriot batteries are positioned in the Lublin and Masovian voivodeships; Dorohusk has 650 shelter places for border guards, medical staff and travellers, with modular shelters to follow at crossings that have none. Kosiniak-Kamysz: "The Russian Federation is escalating the conflict not only with Ukraine but, by climbing the rungs of the escalation ladder, is escalating the conflict with NATO states." Kierwiński said 90 per cent of schools in the Lublin voivodeship responded correctly to last week's alarm. Last Wednesday a drone came down four kilometres short of the same crossing.

Ukraine's general staff says Special Operations Forces deep-strike units, the Unmanned Systems Forces and military intelligence struck Rosneft's Kuibyshev refinery in Samara, about seven million tonnes a year, and Bashneft's Ufaneftekhim in Ufa, about 7.5 million, overnight; it reports a large fire at Samara and a fire at Ufa. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, Samara's governor, reported one person killed and four wounded and said the enemy targeted "industrial enterprises", without naming the plant. Russia's defence ministry counted 297 Ukrainian drones intercepted between Monday night and Tuesday morning. The same night Russia flew 212 drones and Oniks, Iskander-M, KN-23 and Kalibr missiles at Ukraine, with hits at 22 locations by the air force's count; a ballistic missile hit Interpipe's plant in Dnipro, killing four and halting production, and on Tuesday evening jet-powered drones struck fuel storage tanks in Kyiv's Obolonskyi district, injuring at least eight.

Zelenskyy went into his meeting with Trump in New York on Tuesday evening with the proposal he posted after Sunday's call: "Ukraine's energy sector, critical infrastructure, and our food exports must stop being targets for Russia, and this will lead to matching de-escalation steps on our part." In his General Assembly speech Trump said of the tariff law he signed last week: "if necessary, I will have to use them. It's time to stop the killing." No readout of the meeting had been published by the time of this edition.