Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Thursday, January 22, that NATO states backed having a “permanent presence” in the Arctic, including around Greenland, after US President Donald Trump claimed a framework deal was struck to satisfy his demands.

“We have asked NATO to be more present in the Arctic region,” Frederiksen said at the start of a European Union summit in Brussels. “Everybody in NATO agrees about that, the Arctic states, but also other member states, that we need a permanent presence from NATO in the Arctic region, including around Greenland.”

Trump on Wednesday backed down from the threat of using force or tariffs to try to take over Greenland, after saying an agreement was reached in talks with NATO chief Mark Rutte. Details remained scant of the accord, but Trump did not make any progress towards his goal of trying to gain control over the autonomous Arctic territory of fellow NATO member Denmark. Frederiksen said discussions about Denmark’s sovereignty were off the table. “It cannot be changed,” she said.

NATO said following the talks that the alliance would ramp up security in the Arctic, after Trump used the perceived threat from Russia and China to justify his desire for Greenland. A source familiar with the discussions said Denmark and the US would also look to renegotiate a 1951 defense pact on Greenland that governs American troop deployments on the island.

“We said to the Americans a year ago that we can discuss our agreement on defense, but it has to be in the framework of us as a sovereign state,” Frederiksen said. The Danish leader insisted the two sides “have to work together respectfully, without threatening each other,” adding that “I, of course, hope to find a political solution within the framework of democracy and how we cooperate as allies.”

Greenland not aware of contents

Greenland’s prime minister said he was not aware of the contents of the framework agreement, but stressed no deal could be made without involving the island. “Nobody else than Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark have the mandate to make deals or agreements about Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark without us,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen told a press conference.

Nielsen said he was “happy” that Trump had stated that the use of force was off the table, but that he was not aware of the contents of the deal. “I don’t know what there is in the agreement or the deal about my country,” Nielsen told reporters, noting that he had not been part of the discussions.

French President Emmanuel Macron also welcomed Trump’s climbdown over Greenland, suggesting a united pushback from Europe had swayed the US leader’s decision. “When Europe reacts to threats with unity and using the tools at its disposal, it can make itself be respected,” Macron told reporters as he arrived for the summit talks in Brussels. “We are back to a situation that seems much more acceptable, even if we remain vigilant.”