A solution resembling that of the United Kingdom’s sovereign base areas on Cyprus has been suggested as a potential way to resolve an ongoing dispute between United States President Donald Trump and the Danish government over the future of Greenland, according to reports on Thursday.

The New York Times quoted a Nato official who attended meetings on the matter at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos as having “compared the concept to the United Kingdom’s bases in Cyprus, which are regarded as British territory”.

It also said that a second official “also confirmed that the idea for Greenland was modelled after the sovereign British bases in Cyprus”.

The UK retained two sovereign bases in Cyprus, in Akrotiri and in Dhekelia, when it relinquished control of the rest of the island upon its independence in 1960. Neither base was ever incorporated into the Republic of Cyprus and both are sovereign British territory.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper appeared reluctant on Thursday to suggest that such an arrangement could also be made in Greenland, telling the BBC that “Greenland is clearly part of the Kingdom of Denmark” and that “that remains unwavering”.

Cooper was in Davos on Thursday and was asked specifically about the prospect of American sovereign base areas, but said instead that Nato is working on an “overarching framework” which could include an “arctic sentry, similar to the Baltic sentry we already have within Nato”.

The Baltic sentry is a Nato initiative to increase its military presence in the Baltic sea, with Nato allies deploying a range of assets, including ships and aircraft, with the aim of deterring Russian activities in the region. It does not entail the transfer of sovereignty over any territory.

The initiative was launched last year, with Nato saying it came in response to damage caused to undersea cables connecting Estonia and Finland in December 2024.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also seemed on Thursday to be in no mood to countenance the idea of sovereign bases in Greenland, saying that “we can negotiate on everything political; security, investments, economy … but we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty”.

He added that he had been informed that “this has not been the case” during discussions between the US and Nato in Davos, before stressing that “only Denmark and Greenland themselves can make decisions on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland”.

The US already has a not inconsiderable military presence in Greenland, with more than 100 personnel permanently stationed at its Pituffik space base in the island’s northwest.

Earlier this week, Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis had said that the European Union’s steadfastness regarding Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland must hold “in the same spirit as the European Union’s unwavering support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion and violation of international law”.

He said this position must act “as an expression of European credibility and our collective responsibility towards peace and international legitimacy”.

Sovereignty over Greenland has been held solely by Denmark since the Treaty of Kiel of 1812.