Denmark has summoned the US charge d’affaires for an urgent meeting over an alleged influence campaign in Greenland aimed at shaping public opinion and the future of the Arctic territory.
It comes after reports from Danish media, confirmed by the Danish foreign office, that at least three US men with ties to Donald Trump and the White House had been accused of trying to infiltrate Greenlandic society.
Their activity – which, according to the broadcaster DR, includes compiling lists of Trump-supporting Greenlandic citizens – is being closely watched by the Danish government, which is understood to be aware of “foreign agents and actors” trying to shape public opinion in Greenland.
The Danish foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, denounced the alleged scheme on Wednesday, saying it was “totally unacceptable”. He said: “It is important that we gain insight into this so that our populations – this applies to both Greenland and Denmark – can see what it is we are up against.”
Rasmussen said officials would make it “very clear to the US” that a foreign influence campaign in Greenland with Washington’s backing would be contrary to all international rules.
Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, said she was taking the claims “very seriously”. “Any interference in internal affairs in the kingdom of Denmark, and Greenlandic democracy, is unacceptable,” she said. “I note that the Americans do not clearly deny that the situation is as DR presents today. And that is of course serious.”
Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to acquire Greenland since taking office, driving tensions between Denmark and the US to unprecedented levels. The former Danish colony is part of the kingdom of Denmark, although it is now autonomous with the exception of its foreign and security policy, which remains controlled by Copenhagen.
In an unusual move aimed at highlighting the gravity of the situation, Denmark’s highest-ranking civil servant will attend the meeting.
The charge d’affaires was summoned in the absence of Trump’s incoming US ambassador, Ken Howery, who is yet to be confirmed by the US Senate. A date for his arrival in Copenhagen is yet to be confirmed but Howery, a co-founder of PayPal, a friend of Elon Musk and the ambassador to Sweden under Trump’s first administration, is expected in the Danish capital in October.
According to DR, the three unnamed American men are accused of attempting to permeate Greenlandic society to weaken relations with Denmark through what it described as “infiltration” and “influence operations”.
One of them, who it is claimed compiled a list of Trump supporters, has reportedly appeared in public with Trump numerous times. He is also accused of creating a list of those who do not support the US president and of advising on issues that “put Denmark in a bad light” in the US media. These allegedly include the forced removals of Greenlandic children by Danish authorities and a separate scandal over the forced contraception of Greenlandic women, for which Frederiksen issued a long-awaited apology on Wednesday.
The two other American men whose activities have reportedly caused Danish authorities concern previously worked under Trump and are known to travel frequently to Greenland from the US.
A government source said that with the population of the capital, Nuuk, being about 20,000 people, “it’s pretty obvious who is walking around and doing this”.
A number of high-profile Americans with political connections and business people have flocked to Nuuk since Trump’s election.
In January, Donald Trump Jr was joined by the political activist Charlie Kirk, who cofounded the pro-Trump conservative organisation Turning Point USA. In March, before Greenland’s election, Drew Horn, a member of the first Trump administration and the chief executive of the Washington DC-based mineral investment company GreenMet, said there were “tens of billions” of dollars ready to be invested in Greenland immediately. Tom Dans, Trump’s former Arctic commissioner and an investor, described Greenland as “really frontier in the true sense of things”. None of the men have been implicated by Danish authorities.
Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, said she did not know of any “shady activities” taking place in Greenland. She told newspaper Sermitsiaq: “There is nothing new in what I have been presented with, beyond what we already know.”
Aaja Chemnitz, a member of the Danish parliament for the Greenlandic party Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), said the latest reports reflected a US effort. “We have seen before that they have been trying to influence the people of Greenland, but of course also Greenlandic politicians. This is just a continuation of that.”
But she said she had not seen evidence of an impact on people’s views. “I don’t think it is working. The Greenlandic people have been an object for people trying to influence us over many many years.”
She said life for the Greenlandic people continued to be worse than for Danish people living in the Danish kingdom, especially as a result of underinvestment and the historic injustices against Inuit people.
Although she said the US remained “on the table” when it came to investment in Greenland, the impact of Trump’s words about acquiring Greenland – by force if required – had had an impact. Greenland, she said, was “much more sceptical towards the US than before”.
Pele Broberg, who leads Greenland’s opposition party, Naleraq, which is seen as the most Trump-friendly of Greenland’s political parties, said he was baffled by the diplomatic clash, saying the claims were based on previously reported events from January.
“Should we never talk to anybody but Denmark? We don’t get what the big issue is right now,” he said.
He denied claims that the White House was trying to influence opinions in Nuuk, adding: “But what I do know is that the Danish, French and German governments are trying to influence the Greenlandic government every single day … It’s just business as usual.”
This is the second time Denmark has summoned the US charge d’affaires since Trump assumed office. The first such meeting, in May, was over reports that US intelligence agencies had been ordered to increase espionage in Greenland.
The US Department of State did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A representative of the US government said in a statement to DR: “Individual US citizens may have interests in Greenland. The US government does not control or direct the actions of private citizens.”
They said the US “values the relationships with the governments of Greenland and Denmark,” adding: “The president, vice-president and secretary of state have all been clear: the United States respects the right of the Greenlandic people to determine their own future.”
Speaking on behalf of Horn, Sabrina Katz, vice-president of operations and Arctic lead at GreenMet, said: “Drew is no longer affiliated with the Trump administration and is now fully focused on private sector work. Our efforts in Greenland are solely driven by commercialisation objectives and are not connected to any government role or agenda.”
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