Summoning the top US diplomat in Denmark is a polite way of saying, ‘Oi, stop looking into our backyard.’
This is what has happened after the Danish national broadcaster reported that three people linked to Donald Trump are are busy stirring the political pot in Greenland.
Citing government and security sources, the broadcaster, DR, said the trio had been compiling names of Greenlandic citizens who backed America’s Arctic daydream – and who might be willing to join a movement to declare independence.
The US president has long had plans to take over the island, and has not ruled out military action to achieve it.
Accusations of ‘covert influence operations’ have already been brushed off by Washington – but in Copenhagen the evidence seems to be piling up.
Are there US ‘spies’ in Greenland?
Now, of course, interpretations of ‘spying’ differ.
The US State Department insists the three Americans are ‘private citizens,’ adding that it does not control or direct their actions.
A White House official also did not confirm an ‘influence campaign’ as per Denmark’s accusations.
Adding fuel to the fire, it said: ‘We think the Danes need to calm down.’
Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen stressed that any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Kingdom [of Denmark] will of course be unacceptable’.
This comes as the country’s intelligence warned that Greenland was being targeted by ‘various kinds of influence campaigns’.
Neither the Danish foreign ministry nor DR disclosed the identities of the Americans flagged in the intelligence reports.
Why has Denmark summoned the US envoy?
As soon as the story broke, Rasmussen summoned the he deputy chief of mission in Copenhagen, Mark Stroh,
A US state department spokesperson confirmed this, adding that he had had a ‘productive conversation’ that ‘reaffirmed the strong ties’ between Greenland, Denmark and the US.
Summoning the Chargé d’Affaires of a country is an age-old diplomatic tool – and is not to be underestimated.
Danish officials have been concerned for months about public efforts by Trump allies to stear up support for Greenland splitting off from Denmark.
What has Trump said about Greenland?
Trump first proposed purchasing Greenland in 2019, calling it ‘essentially… a large real estate deal’ and adding ‘strategically it’s interesting’.
The Republican has since reiterated his desire for to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal, calling both critical to American national security.
Days before entering the White House for his second term, he resurrected his call from his first presidency to buy the island.
He wrote on his Truth Social platform of the island: ‘We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!’
Both Denmark and Greenland have stressed that the island is not for sale and condemned reports of the US gathering intelligence there.
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