Donald Trump signed a security deal with Denmark and Greenland to end a bitter dispute over the Arctic island, saying the United States will start building two “very major military bases” on the territory.

Trump sealed the agreement alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, in New York on Tuesday, with the full text of the agreement published right after signing.

The agreement will give the U.S. “permanent control over security and all other needs on that territory,” Trump said earlier Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly.

“We will have the complete ability to do what is necessary to defend the American continent and also Europe and other places,” the president said. “We will immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate locations.”

The deal, which Trump had already announced on Friday, is set to expand Washington’s military role in Greenland, though it will leave the island under Danish sovereignty.

In addition to new bases at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig, the agreement allows the U.S. to expand its existing Pituffik space base, and it has an option to add more defense areas as needed. It also notes Greenland’s role as part of the Golden Dome defense system and gives Washington a say over foreign military activity and sensitive investments.

The step caps months of negotiations to end a dispute over the semi-autonomous Danish territory that in January escalated into a major diplomatic crisis between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization members. The standoff was sparked by Trump’s repeated threats since taking office to annex Greenland or seize control of the island.

Trump is his speech also praised Denmark as an “incredible, beautiful country,” saying the two sides had “really formed a bond” through the negotiations.

Trump has previously said the arrangement will come at no cost to the U.S., but the text does not spell out how the expanded presence will be funded. At the signing ceremony, he also brushed past questions from reporters about the deal stopping short of the U.S. ownership he had previously sought.

In her brief remarks, Frederiksen said the deal would prevent adversaries from gaining “any control or significant influence in Greenland” while increasing the presence of allies in the region.

“Mr. President, you have been very clear. You don’t want adversaries to come too close,” the Danish premier said. “I fully agree, and with this deal, they are not.”

The deal expands an existing Greenland agreement from 1951, updated in 2004, that already gave the U.S. wide latitude to station forces on the island. The earlier framework required Washington to consult Denmark and Greenland over significant changes to its military presence, a principle that has now been reaffirmed, Frederiksen said at a news conference following the signing. She declined to specify what the new deal gives the U.S. that it could not already have obtained under the old accord.

Greenland’s Premier Nielsen, also speaking at the signing ceremony, called it “a very important day for our shared security.”

“We are, have been, and will remain a steadfast friend of the United States and a part of the Western alliance,” he said. “Your security is our security, and our security is your security.”

The agreement says that if Greenland becomes independent, Denmark and Greenland must ensure it remains in NATO.

The resolution of the diplomatic standoff comes after a series of setbacks for Trump, including prolonged fighting in the Middle East, no breakthrough in ending Russia’s war in Ukraine and persistent cost-of-living pressures for U.S. voters ahead of the midterms.

Since returning to office last year, Trump has repeatedly pressured Denmark, a NATO ally, to give up Greenland. Tensions escalated in January after he refused to rule out military action, prompting Denmark and other NATO allies to send troops to the island.

While the deployment was publicly presented as an exercise, Copenhagen sent forces with live ammunition who were prepared to blow up airport runways to prevent U.S. troops from landing if Trump attempted to seize Greenland by force, according to a report by DR.

The confrontation began to ease after Trump held talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. There, the two agreed on the contours of a framework agreement regarding Greenland. Senior officials from Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. have since been holding talks in a working group set up to deal with the dispute.

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen earlier on Tuesday called the period a “destructive chapter” in the transatlantic relationship, saying in a video on social media that he hopes the agreement can now bring it to a close.

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(With assistance from Ben Sills, Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Jordan Fabian, Tyler Clifford, Maria Luiza Rabello, Andrea Salcedo and Demetrios Pogkas.)

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