Denmark summons US envoy over alleged covert operations in Greenland

Denmark summoned the US envoy in the country for talks on Wednesday after its national broadcaster reported that at least three Trump-connected individuals are conducting covert influence operations in Greenland to weaken Copenhagen's relations with the north Atlantic island.

Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, has been the target of US President Donald Trump's territorial pretensions, with Trump repeatedly claiming the US needs it to boost its security.

Denmark, a NATO ally of the United States, and Greenland have said the island is not for sale and condemned reports of the US gathering intelligence there.

Public broadcaster DR cited government and security sources which it did not name, as well as unidentified sources in Greenland and the US in its report.

It said its story was based on information from a total of eight sources, which believe the goal is to weaken relations with Denmark from within Greenlandic society.

DR said it had been unable to clarify whether the Americans were working at their own initiative or on orders from someone else.

“We are aware that foreign actors continue to show an interest in Greenland and its position in the Kingdom of Denmark,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in a statement emailed by his ministry. “It is therefore not surprising if we experience outside attempts to influence the future of the Kingdom in the time ahead.”

“Any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Kingdom will of course be unacceptable,” Løkke Rasmussen said. “In that light, I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to summon the US chargé d’affaires for a meeting at the Ministry.”

Washington has no ambassador in Denmark at this time. Mark Stroh is the charge d'affaires and the most senior diplomat in the country.

Rasmussen added that cooperation between the governments of Denmark and Greenland “is close and based on mutual trust.”

Last month, Rasmussen warned that Trump's expansionist threat over Greenland is "not over and done" yet, as Denmark took over the presidency of the EU Council.

Earlier this year, the US president sent shockwaves across Europe when he publicly refused to rule out the possibility of employing military force or economic coercion to seize Greenland.

"We do not consider a military annexation as anything which likely could happen. Not at all. Having said that, it's not that we consider this case solved," Rasmussen told journalists in July.

Trump's pitch has so far failed to convince Greenland's 56,000 citizens: a vast majority of them oppose being part of the US, according to opinion polls. The recent elections yielded a four-party coalition government in defence of self-determination.

Denmark, in the meantime, is rolling out a new plan worth 14.6 billion kroner (€1.95 billion) to boost military presence in the Arctic and North Atlantic regions.