BRUSSELS, October 5. /TASS/. New US military bases in Greenland will start operating on a limited basis by 2030, though it may take up to 10 years for them to become fully operational, the Rapporteur news portal reported.
Under an agreement signed on September 22 by the United States, Denmark, and Greenland, Washington will establish a base in Narsarsuaq (where a base already existed during the Cold War) and in Mestersvig. The Pituffik Space Base is planned to be upgraded and expanded.
According to Rasmus Berthelsen, a partner at Danish consultancy Rasmussen Global, the new base in Narsarsuaq, a small settlement in the south, could become a key logistics hub because of its long airstrip and milder weather. "It’s a natural kind of spot to refuel or deploy surveillance aircraft and drones," he said. According to Gabriella Gricius, an associate professor at the Norwegian Military Academy, the main purpose of the US expansion there is to enhance surveillance, especially of the so-called GIUK gap between Greenland, Iceland and the UK.
Greenland is part of Denmark as an autonomous territory. In 1951, Washington and Copenhagen signed a defense treaty alongside their NATO alliance obligations. Under this treaty, the US committed to protecting the island against possible aggression.
