"U.S. Conducts Secret Operations in Greenland," Denmark Summoned U.S. Charge d'Affaires: "Unacceptable"
The Trump administration, which has long coveted Greenland, has started taking action again.
On August 27 local time, Danish Foreign Minister Rasmussen (see picture) stated that he had summoned the U.S. chargé d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Denmark regarding reports of U.S. citizens conducting "secret influence operations" in Greenland.
Danish intelligence agencies said that Greenland is indeed a target for various influence activities at present, aimed at dividing the relationship between Denmark and Greenland. Some officials tried to downplay the incident, stating that the involved American personnel acted "in an amateurish manner," but other officials reacted strongly, directly pointing out that this issue has escalated tensions between Denmark and the United States.
On August 27, Danish public broadcaster DR cited anonymous sources who revealed that the Danish government believes at least three U.S. citizens linked to the Trump administration were involved in a "secret influence operation" in Greenland. The broadcast station did not disclose the names of these individuals.
"Any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Danish kingdom is obviously unacceptable," Rasmussen said during an interview. "Considering this, I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to summon the U.S. chargé d'affaires for discussions."
According to the official website of the U.S. embassy in Copenhagen, the mission is currently being managed by chargé d'affaires Mark Stroh. Reuters was unable to immediately contact the U.S. embassy for comments. The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also not yet responded to requests for comment.
The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) assessed on August 27 that "especially under the current circumstances, Greenland is indeed a target for various influence operations." PET believes that such operations aim to create divisions between Denmark and Greenland.
Some senior Danish officials attempted to downplay the seriousness of the summoning event. They stated that the three Americans involved seemed to be acting "in an amateurish manner" and there was no evidence of connections with the U.S. intelligence community.
However, former Danish Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard told TV2 that "this means all the troubles surrounding Greenland are far from over." He added, "This seriously escalates our (tensions) with the United States, and the Americans should also realize this."
Aya Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, said: "They (the Americans) are trying to infiltrate Greenland society in this way, and it's no longer a joke. The future of Greenland must be decided by the Greenlanders themselves."
Several days before these allegations, U.S. federal government agencies on the 22nd demanded that Danish company Ørsted immediately halt all construction activities on a major offshore wind project in the United States, citing the need to assess the project's impact on U.S. national security and the ocean.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1841657242643456/
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