Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen at a press conference for the foreign press at the cultural center Katuaq in Nuuk, Greenland, January 22, 2026. (Photo: Ritzau Scanpix/REUTERS)

News of a framework deal came as Trump backed off tariff threats against Europe and ruled out taking Greenland by force, bringing a degree of respite in what was brewing to be the biggest rupture in transatlantic ties in decades.

Details of any agreement were unclear and Denmark insisted its sovereignty over the island was not up for discussion.

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a press conference Thursday that he doesn’t know what’s in the “framework” deal. But Nielsen emphasized that no deal involving Greenland can be struck without the island and its governing kingdom, Denmark, having a say. Any such deal must respect Greenland’s “red lines,” including its sovereignty and territorial integrity, he added.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has called for a "permanent presence of NATO in the Arctic region, including around Greenland."