Trump's emissaries to push Greenland towards the US, Danish ire
Intelligence unveils undercover activities, Copenhagen summons US chargé d'affaires: 'Unacceptable'. And meanwhile apologises to Inuit women for forced contraception
2' min read
2' min read
Relations between Denmark and the United States over disputed Greenland are becoming tense again. Copenhagen summoned the US chargé d'affaires in the country, the highest-ranking diplomat to date, following intelligence revelations that US citizens - at least three according to the public broadcaster DR - were operating undercover in the semi-autonomous Danish territory to foment opposition to Copenhagen's control in favour of a rapprochement with Washington. Behind the operation would be the ambitions of the Trump administration to promote a secession of Greenland.
For Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, any attempt to undermine relations between Denmark and Greenland 'is completely unacceptable. If anyone thinks they can influence these relations by creating a 'fifth column' or similar activities, that is contrary to cooperation between states. It is important for us to speak out very clearly against the United States'.
Also according to broadcaster Dr, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told a delegation of US Senate representatives that the alleged interference in Danish and Greenlandic affairs was 'unacceptable'.
Greenland, rich in minerals and strategically located in the Arctic, has been the focus of US interest since US President Donald Trump expressed his ambition to acquire the territory, without even excluding the use of weapons, citing national and international security reasons. His proposal was firmly rejected in both Copenhagen and Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, which holds the right to declare independence through a referendum. Although the more or less gradual ambitions for independence are gaining support, as the elections held on the island in March showed.
In an attempt to counterbalance US aims in the region, Denmark is at the same time trying to improve not always idyllic relations with Greenland. This also includes Copenhagen's public apology today to Greenlandic women who were victims of a decades-long birth control campaign.
