Denmark’s foreign minister has summoned the top United States diplomat in the country following reports of alleged covert influence operations in Greenland.
The move comes after the main national broadcaster, DR, reported on Wednesday that at least three people with connections to President Donald Trump have been carrying out clandestine activities on the vast, semi-autonomous Danish territory.
The allegations surface amid a backdrop of Trump’s repeated expressions of interest in acquiring US jurisdiction over Greenland, a strategically located Arctic island rich in minerals.
He had previously not ruled out military force to take control.
Both Denmark, a NATO ally, and Greenland have consistently said that the island is not for sale and have condemned reports of US intelligence gathering there.
DR’s report, citing unnamed government and security sources, as well as unidentified sources in Greenland and the US, detailed the alleged operations.
One person is said to have compiled a list of US-friendly Greenlanders, gathered names of those opposed to Trump, and sought out instances that could be used to portray Denmark negatively in American media. Two other individuals reportedly attempted to cultivate contacts with local politicians, businesspeople, and residents.
An influence operation is an organised effort to shape how people in a society think in order to achieve certain political, military or other objectives.
DR said its story was based on information from a total of eight sources, who 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. It said it knows their names but chose not to publish them in order to protect its sources.
The Associated Press could not independently confirm the report.
“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 continued.
“In that light, I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to summon the U.S. chargé d’affaires for a meeting at the Ministry.”
Cooperation between the governments of Denmark and Greenland “is close and based on mutual trust,” he added.
The US Embassy in Copenhagen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Danish Security and Intelligence Service responded to a request for comment by saying it believes that “particularly in the current situation, Greenland is a target for influence campaigns of various kinds” that could aim to create divisions in the relationship between Denmark and Greenland.
It said it “assesses that this could be done by exploiting existing or fabricated disagreements, for example in connection with well-known individual cases, or by promoting or amplifying certain viewpoints in Greenland regarding the Kingdom, the United States, or other countries with a particular interest in Greenland.”
The service, known by its Danish acronym PET, said that in recent years it has “continuously strengthened” its efforts and presence in Greenland in cooperation with authorities there, and will continue to do so.
