Denmark summons US chargé d’affaires over alleged attempt to establish network to seize Greenland

Brussels – The foreign minister of Denmark has summoned the US chargé d’affaires over alleged attempts to interfere with Greenland’s status, which has long been an object of interest for the new US administration of Donald Trump, according to a report in the British newspaper The Guardian.

According to a report on public broadcaster DR, Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen stated that “any attempt to interfere in the Kingdom’s internal affairs will obviously be unacceptable.” 

The move comes after the DR website reported that Danish intelligence discovered a network of “at least three” people working on “influence operations” in Greenland to create a rift between Denmark and the territory, in an attempt to further “President Trump’s plans to acquire Greenland.” 

DR writes that its institutional sources (as many as eight) use terms such as “infiltration” and “influence operations” and believe that these operations aim to penetrate Greenlandic society, weaken the relationship with Denmark from within, and induce Greenlanders to submit to the United States.

 According to the site, one of the men travelled to Greenland to attend meetings and compile a list of potential allies and opponents of Donald Trump’s plans to conquer the territory.

He reportedly also urged Greenlanders to “report cases that could be used to put Denmark in a bad light in the American media,” DR said. 

The other two men were allegedly involved in networking with politicians, businesspeople, and community leaders to pursue Trump’s plans.

The meeting with the US chargé d’affaires is scheduled for today, Rasmussen said.

In May, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US had intensified its intelligence operations to spy on Greenland.