How Britain’s Bases in Cyprus Could Be a Blueprint for Trump’s Greenland Deal

NATO officials signaled that an agreement with Mr. Trump on Greenland may be modeled on Britain’s Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus. Here’s what that may mean.President Trump said on Wednesday that he had reached a framework for a deal on the future of Greenland with Mark Rutte, left, the NATO secretary general.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York TimesJan. 22, 2026, 4:18 p.m. ETFew details have emerged about the framework of a tentative deal that President Trump said he had reached with NATO over Greenland, but one proposal under discussion would allow the United States to own pockets of land in Greenland for military bases.Western officials who spoke to The New York Times compared the idea to a 60-year-old agreement under which Britain operates sovereign military bases on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Those bases, known as Sovereign Base Areas, or S.B.A.s, occupy an unusual position in international law, one that is deeply rooted in Britain’s colonial history.Experts said that Mr. Trump may be interested in a similar type of arrangement because the bases could give the United States a permanent presence in Greenland while offering greater control over the region and possibly the ability to exploit natural resources in the territory and the Arctic.Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said on Thursday, however, that he was not in favor of giving the United States sovereignty over military bases there.“We are ready to discuss a lot of things,” Mr. Nielsen said, adding, “Sovereignty is a red line.”Here’s what to know about the bases in Cyprus and what they might signal for Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.ImagePrime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain speaking at the Akrotiri British Sovereign Base Area in Cyprus, in 2024.Credit...Pool photo by Kirsty WigglesworthThe bases grant more control than traditional military posts.The British Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus consist of two large areas in the southwest and southeast of the island, making up about 100 square miles. They were established in 1960 as part of an agreement that gave Cyprus independence from Britain.The bases are British overseas territories, like Bermuda and the Falkland Islands, and while the bases resemble U.S. military outposts around the world — like the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba or Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan — the territories in Cyprus are very different. They are not merely areas where military powers exercise control, but are subject to British sovereignty.“It means that officially British law applies, and that the Sovereign Base Areas are actually not in the Republic of Cyprus or the E.U.,” said Prof. Costas M. Constantinou, who teaches International Relations at the University of Cyprus.The Sovereign Base Areas have separate court systems and police agencies. The borders, however, are largely open and no passport is needed for Cypriots to enter. Over the years, the S.B.A.s have also harmonized their laws on civilian affairs with those of Cyprus, Professor Constantinou said.He said that the idea of creating American bases in Greenland similar to the ones Britain maintains in Cyprus would likely be much more beneficial to the United States than taking over all of Greenland, which Mr. Trump said was his initial goal.A similar arrangement, he said, would allow the United States to avoid the expensive and sticky issues that come with governing populations, as the British learned well in Cyprus, while also allowing the bases to “come under full U.S. control.”ImageA checkpoint outside the Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri in Cyprus. The base and one in Dhekelia were established in 1960 as part of an agreement that gave Cyprus independence from Britain.Credit...Elias Marcou/ReutersThe bases could be a jumping off point for resource exploitation.The S.B.A.s in Cyprus do not grant Britain an exclusive economic zone in the country, which would allow Britain to exploit natural resources in the waters near the bases, said Prof. Andreas Stergiou, who teaches about European institutions and international relations at the University of Thessaly in Volos, Greece, and is an expert on security issues in the eastern Mediterranean.“The United Kingdom never, never attempted to raise a claim in the mineral exploitation of Cyprus,” he said. “Because they don’t have full sovereignty.”In Greenland, however, that is something Mr. Trump could negotiate, Professor Stergiou said.“If the United States intends to exploit the minerals that are to be found in and around Greenland, they have to include a special provision in the treaty,” he said.“Just by establishing a military facility there, they do not get the right, even if the military facility enjoys the special privileged status of the British sovereign military bases of Cyprus,” he added. “It’s not enough.”The United States already has one military base in Greenland, in the territory’s north, and it enjoys sweeping military access to the territory. Creating a sovereign base, however, could be a “steppingstone,” Professor Stergiou said. It could allow the United States to raise additional “sovereign claims,” which are generally given more weight in international law, in future disputes over resources in the Arctic.ImageCypriots protested outside the base in Akrotiri in 2024, denouncing Britain’s support of IsraelCredit...ReutersThe bases could lead to tensions at home and abroad.If Cyprus is any guide, establishing a sovereign base area on Greenland could lead to tensions with locals and other world powers.Britain initially paid to use the land in Cyprus, giving the local government around 12 million Cyprus pounds (roughly $33 million) from 1960 to 1965, before halting payments. Since then, there have been a number of unsuccessful attempts by Cyprus to force Britain to pay for the use of the land.Over the years, some Cypriots have been critical of the presence of the bases, which they say were created at independence without the approval of the general population of Cyprus. The bases, which have played roles in conflicts in the Middle East, have also been the sites of demonstrations against military actions in Iraq and the war in Gaza.Professor Stergiou said it was possible that a sovereign U.S. military presence in Greenland would draw similar attention.“The bases might enhance the security environment and the security of Greenland,” he said. “However, it entails the risk to embroil Greenland into conflicts Greenland has nothing to do with.”Greenlanders gathered in several cites and towns last weekend to protest Mr. Trump’s plans to take over the territory.In Cyprus, protests against the British bases have never snowballed or become overly violent, Professor Constantinou said, because the country has for decades been distracted by its own political and ethnic disputes.He also noted that there are locals who support the British military presence on the island, especially those who are employed by the S.B.A.s.While people in Greenland and Denmark await more details about agreement between Mr. Trump and NATO, some argue that any deal establishing a sovereign base area would be a reversal of the international principles of self-determination that have been in place since the end World War II.“These are new forms of colonialism through which imperial powers manage to retain control without the burden of governance,” Professor Constantinou said.“They are not as visible as standard colonies, whereby foreign powers ruled over local populations,” he added. “They are more palatable, more acceptable forms of sovereign control.”Jonathan Wolfe is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news.SKIP