In the absence of an agreement, negotiations between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland are advancing

Discussions between the governments of Greenland, Denmark, and the United States regarding the coveted autonomous Danish territory by the Trump administration are progressing, but no agreement has been reached. “It is difficult for me to go into details of the discussions within the [Danish-Greenlandic-American, ed.] working group, but we have made some progress in the right direction,” Greenland’s prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Tuesday at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit. “We are negotiating, but we do not have an agreement,” he added.

The United States wants to open three new military bases in the southern part of the territory, in addition to the Pituffik (formerly Thule) base they already hold in northern Greenland. A defense agreement from 1951, updated in 2004, gives the U.S. military almost free rein to deploy facilities on Greenlandic territory, provided they notify the authorities in advance.

(Fact Check: There have been discussions about the U.S. opening new military bases in Greenland, but no agreement has been finalized.)

Five meetings have taken place since January. After a year marked by the U.S. president’s desire to “take control” of the Arctic region, Copenhagen and Nuuk had an initial meeting with Washington, followed by the formation of a working group to discuss U.S. concerns, particularly their military presence. “We have been ready from the start and we have said that we are ready to do more, to take on more responsibility in terms of national or international security,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen emphasized. “Our only requirement is respect,” he said.

(Fact Check: There have been five meetings since January to discuss U.S. concerns and Greenland’s willingness to take on more security responsibilities.)

The discussions are being led by a senior official from the U.S. State Department, Michael Needham, while Jesper Møller Sørensen, Denmark’s ambassador to the United States, and Jacob Isbosethsen, a Greenlandic diplomat, are driving the negotiations in Washington for Denmark and Greenland, according to reports. Five meetings have taken place since January, the BBC reported.