2:32President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 21, 2026. Evan Vucci/AP
Negotiations over Greenland's fate will continue in the days and weeks ahead, as delegations from the United States, Denmark, Greenland and NATO hash out what a potential deal will look like.
Even though President Donald Trump announced he had reached the "framework" of a deal with NATO over Greenland's future, he continues to be light on details.
As of Thursday evening, there was no pen to paper. There is no deal on the table and nothing has been agreed to, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.
Trump said the deal was still being negotiated when he was asked repeatedly for details Thursday on Air Force on his way back from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 21, 2026.Evan Vucci/AP
"The time limit is infinity, meaning there is no time limit. It's forever. You know, you're about 99 years, 50 years. It's forever. That was discussed," Trump told reporters. "We can do anything we want. We can do military, we can do anything we want, and it's being negotiated. And let's see what happens. I think it'll be good."
When asked whether Denmark is on board with the plan, Trump said "I think everyone likes it. I mean, I think, I'll let you know in about two weeks."
The Danes and the U.S. continue to speak through a high-level working group that was established when Danish and Greenlandic officials came to Washington last week and met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Map of North PoleABC News
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, that it is now up to NATO commanders to work through the details of extra security requirements and that he was sure non-Arctic NATO allies would want to contribute to the effort.
"We will come together in NATO with our senior commanders to work out what is necessary," Rutte said, adding: "I have no doubt we can do this quite fast. Certainly I would hope for 2026, I hope even early in 2026."
Here's what's on the table:
A U.S. official said discussions include potentially stationing additional U.S. forces at bases in Greenland, something the U.S. already has permission to do under the 1951 Defense of Greenland agreement, which gives the U.S. government the authority to operate in the country's designated defense areas in perpetuity.
As Trump mentioned Wednesday, the discussions also include providing U.S. access to Greenland's natural resources, including rare-earth minerals, according to multiple officials.
Two U.S. officials said the discussions also include expanding European and NATO efforts to boost security around the Arctic. One official said the U.S. is also looking to ramp up its security abilities in the region to stop the encroachment of adversaries into Greenland.
The sun sets over Nuuk, Greenland, January 21, 2026.Mads Claus Rasmussen/EPA/Shutterstock
The official said that the main facets of a possible deal involve giving the U.S. "total access" to parts of Greenland for an unlimited amount of time.
This would include updating the 1951 agreement to ensure access is not curbed in the future under any circumstances — for example, if Greenland were to gain independence from Denmark, the U.S. still wants unrestrained access.
The U.S. official said they want to ensure access to Greenland will last "forever" and "for infinity."
The White House declined to comment on specifics of a potential deal.
"If this deal goes through, and President Trump is very hopeful it will, the United States will be achieving all of its strategic goals with respect to Greenland, at very little cost, forever. President Trump is proving once again he's the Dealmaker in Chief. As details are finalized by all parties involved, they will be released accordingly," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to ABC News.
Trump told Fox Business Network "a piece" of his Golden Dome missile defense project would be placed in Greenland, but he didn't say whether the U.S. would have sovereignty over parts of the island.
Danish officials tell ABC News there have been no direct discussions between Denmark and the U.S. about the possibility of granting the U.S. sovereign parcels of land.
NATO spokesperson Allison Hart told ABC News that "the secretary general did not propose any compromise to sovereignty during his meeting with the president in Davos."
ABC News' Isabella Murray, Nicholas Kerr, Hannah Demissie and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com