The top U.S. diplomat in Denmark was summoned for a meeting at the country’s foreign ministry, Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen confirmed on Wednesday, over alleged pro-American influence operations in Greenland.
“We are aware that foreign actors continue to show an interest in Greenland and its position in the Kingdom of Denmark,” Rasmussen said in a statement. “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,” Rasmussen said. “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.”
“The cooperation between the governments of Denmark and Greenland is close and based on mutual trust, just as there is close cooperation and dialogue between the relevant Greenlandic and Danish authorities,” Rasmussen added.
The meeting came after Danish public broadcaster DR published a report in which unnamed government and security sources said that three Americans with connections to President Donald Trump were conducting influence operations in the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
DR said it was unclear whether the Americans were acting on their own initiative or under orders from others.
In a statement Wednesday afternoon, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said it had “no comment to provide of the actions of private U.S. citizens in Greenland” and added that “the U.S. Government does not control or direct the actions of private citizens.”
The statement also confirmed that the U.S. embassy in Denmark’s Chargé d’Affaires Mark Stroh met with the Danish minister of foreign affairs Wednesday at Denmark’s request.
“They had a productive conversation and reaffirmed the strong ties among the Government of Greenland, the United States, and Denmark,” the spokesperson said.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to take control of Greenland, framing the huge Arctic territory as vital for American national security. The president has proposed purchasing the island and refused to rule out taking military action to take control of it.
Politicians in Denmark and Greenland have said that the island is not for sale.
In a statement sent to ABC News on Wednesday, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service said it is aware that Greenland has been the target of “various types of influence campaigns” aimed at “creating discord in the relationship between Denmark and Greenland.”
“Influence activities can generally be carried out via traditional physical influence agents or via disinformation, i.e. deliberate production and dissemination of misleading information,” the statement added.