Is Trump trying to engineer Greenland’s secession from Denmark?

Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs connected Wednesday summoned a apical United States diplomat successful the state to sermon quality reports that US citizens person secretly tried to power radical successful Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump, to reason Danish rule.

Here is what Denmark has accused the US of doing and wherefore Trump has ambitions to get Greenland.

What has Denmark accused the US of?

Denmark summoned Mark Stroh, the US complaint d’affaires successful Denmark, aft the Danish nationalist broadcaster, DR, reported connected Wednesday that astatine slightest 3 Americans with links to Trump had been carrying retired covert operations that sought to promote Greenland to interruption distant from Denmark and alternatively articulation the US. DR cited unnamed sources.

Greenland, which is situated betwixt the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, is the world’s largest land and is geographically portion of North America.

The 3 American individuals, who DR reported were being intimately watched by Danish authorities, were not named by the broadcaster. Their alleged activities see compiling lists of Greenlanders who enactment Trump and gathering accusation astir tensions betwixt Denmark and Greenland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said: “Any interference successful interior affairs successful the kingdom of Denmark, and Greenlandic democracy, is unacceptable.”

“I enactment that the Americans person not intelligibly rejected the DR study today, and that is of people serious,” Fredriksen told Danish television.

Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Lokke Rasmussen besides told AFP that helium was alert of the “foreign actors” funny successful Greenland’s presumption wrong Denmark.

Christine Nissen, main expert astatine Copenhagen-based deliberation vessel Europa, told Al Jazeera that Denmark’s summoning of a US diplomat was a “very rare” event.

“Summoning the US complaint d’affaires for a ceremonial protestation is thing Denmark lone does successful exceptional circumstances, and it signals conscionable however earnestly Copenhagen views the situation. It is intelligibly not regular diplomacy but a beardown awesome of protest,” said Nissen.

“Denmark has lone done this erstwhile earlier successful caller years – and notably implicit the aforesaid issue, erstwhile it summoned the US ambassador successful effect to a Wall Street Journal study suggesting that US quality agencies had been tasked with investigating Greenland’s independency question and assets potential.”

In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that US quality agencies had been instructed by respective high-ranking quality officials nether US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to cod accusation astir Greenland’s independency question and section views connected the US gaining entree to Greenland’s earthy resources.

The WSJ, which quoted 2 unnamed sources acquainted with the issue, reported that the quality agencies had been tasked specifically with identifying Greenlanders and radical from Denmark who supported US objectives for Greenland.

In May, erstwhile this study was published, Fredriksen told The Associated Press that the study was “rumours”, adding: “You cannot spy against an ally.”

After that study was published, Gabbard’s bureau released a statement, saying: “The Wall Street Journal should beryllium ashamed of aiding heavy authorities actors who question to undermine the President by politicising and leaking classified accusation … Those who leak classified accusation volition beryllium recovered and held accountable to the fullest grade of the law.”

How has the US responded?

The US State Department released a connection confirming that the complaint d’affaires and lawman main of the US ngo successful Copenhagen, Mark Stroh, had met with officials from the Danish Foreign Ministry.

Stroh had “a productive speech and reaffirmed the beardown ties among the Government of Greenland, the United States, and Denmark”, the connection said. It added that the US respects “the close of the radical of Greenland to find their ain future”.

However, the US State Department did not remark connected the claims astir the actions of US citizens. “The US authorities does not power oregon nonstop the actions of backstage citizens,” it stated.

What has Trump said astir Greenland?

Greenland is location to astir 56,000 people, astir of whom are from the Indigenous Inuit community.

Since Trump’s archetypal term, the US president has expressed an involvement successful Greenland’s accession to the US. Back then, Trump cancelled a trip to Copenhagen aft Denmark refused to merchantability Greenland to the US.

During his 2nd word arsenic president, Trump has stepped up his involvement successful Greenland. In precocious December 2024, Trump posted connected his Truth Social level that “the ownership and power of Greenland is an implicit necessity”.

In effect to this, Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede said successful a written statement: “Greenland is ours. We are not for merchantability and volition ne'er beryllium for sale. We indispensable not suffer our agelong conflict for freedom.”

In January, up of his lad Donald Trump Jr’s travel to Greenland, Trump again wrote connected Truth Social: “Greenland is an unthinkable place, and the radical volition payment tremendously if, and when, it becomes portion of our Nation.”

After this, Frederiksen said: “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.” Rasmussen emphasised that Greenland did not privation to go a portion of the US.

Trump erstwhile again raised his ambitions to get Greenland successful March, up of US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to the island. “We request Greenland. And the satellite needs america to person Greenland, including Denmark,” Trump told reporters astatine the White House, adding that the US volition spell “as acold arsenic we person to go” to marque it happen.

“I person to accidental that it is unacceptable unit being placed connected Greenland and Denmark successful this situation. And it is unit that we volition resist,” Frederiksen told Danish media astatine the time.

While Vance was initially slated to sojourn aggregate towns, helium chopped his itinerary abbreviated to 1 time aft quality of his sojourn was met with choler successful Europe. He ended up visiting the US Pituffik subject base, which Greenland hosts.

During his trip, Vance took purpose astatine Denmark, saying: “You person not done a bully occupation by the radical of Greenland. You person underinvested successful the radical of Greenland and you person underinvested successful the information of this incredible, beauteous landmass.”

What is truthful important astir Greenland?

Greenland is affluent successful minerals, including uncommon world minerals indispensable for manufacturing batteries and high-tech products. A 2023 survey recovered that Greenland contains 25 retired of 34 minerals designated arsenic “critical earthy materials” by the European Commission.

However, Greenland does not extract lipid and state since mining is opposed by the Indigenous communities there. The island’s system relies chiefly connected its sportfishing industry.

The land is besides strategically important to the US due to the fact that it sits connected the shortest way from North America to Europe, perchance providing the US with a strategical vantage successful subject operations and its ballistic rocket early-warning system.

How person Denmark and Europe responded to Trump’s ambitions to get Greenland?

Officials from Denmark and Greenland person rebuked Trump and repeatedly stated that Greenland is “not for sale”.

In December, Denmark announced it would boost defence spending successful Greenland by $1.5bn aft Trump expressed his tendency to instrumentality implicit the autonomous island.

European leaders person expressed solidarity with Denmark.

In January, aft Trump refused to regularisation retired subject unit to instrumentality Greenland, European leaders warned Trump against threatening “sovereign borders”.

“Borders indispensable not beryllium moved by force. This rule applies to each country, whether successful the East oregon the West,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote successful an X post. France’s overseas curate Jean-Noel Barrot said that Greenland was “European territory” and determination was “no question of the EU letting different nations successful the world, whoever they whitethorn beryllium … onslaught its sovereign borders”.

Although Greenland is not a subordinate of the European Union, it is included connected the EU’s database of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs).

In June, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Greenland successful a amusement of solidarity.

“It’s important to amusement that Denmark and Europe are committed to this territory, which has precise precocious strategical stakes and whose territorial integrity indispensable beryllium respected,” Macron said during his visit.

Prior to his visit, Macron said during a United Nations Ocean Conference that Greenland and the heavy seas were not “up for grabs”.

Are determination different points of hostility betwixt the US and Denmark?

Tension betwixt the US and Denmark emerged precocious aft the Trump medication stopped enactment connected a astir implicit upwind workplace disconnected the seashore of Rhode Island successful the US by Orsted, 1 of Denmark’s largest companies.

The Revolution Wind task was astir 80 percent implicit erstwhile it received the halt bid connected August 23. The halt bid cited a request to “address concerns related to the extortion of nationalist information interests” without providing further details. On Monday, Orsted shares plunged 17 percent, hitting an all-time low.

In January, probe by polling bureau YouGov, shared with British paper The Guardian, showed that 46 percent of radical surveyed successful Denmark saw the US arsenic either a “fairly large threat” oregon a “very large threat” to Denmark.

The US and Denmark are some founding members of NATO, and Denmark fought alongside the US successful its wars successful Afghanistan and Iraq.

How does Greenland consciousness astir the US and Denmark?

Greenland was ruled by Denmark from the aboriginal 1700s until 1979, erstwhile it became a self-governing territory. Since 2009, Greenland has had the ineligible close to state independency if its radical take to bash truthful done a referendum.

All 3 large parties successful Greenland enactment independency for the island, but person antithetic ideas astir the timeline for this and privation Greenlanders to determine for themselves. Prime Minister Egede’s Inuit Ataqatigiit enactment supports independency but does not privation to unreserved the process.

According to a canvass conducted successful January by pollster Verian, commissioned by the Danish paper Berlingske, 56 percent of Greenlanders would ballot for independency if a referendum was held. Seventeen percent of Greenlanders responded saying they “don’t know” whether oregon not they would ballot for Greenland to go an autarkic state.

Yet determination is scant grounds that adjacent those who privation independency from Denmark privation to articulation the US.

Meanwhile, tensions with Denmark exist, too.

The Danish authorities forcefully separated Inuit children from their families successful 1951 and forced contraception upon 4,500 Inuit women – astatine slightest fractional of fertile Inuit females – during the 1960s and 1970s.

On Wednesday, Fredriksen apologised to the Inuit women who were forced to deterioration an intrauterine instrumentality (IUD) without their consent.

“We cannot alteration what has happened. But we tin instrumentality responsibility. Therefore, connected behalf of Denmark, I would similar to say: I americium sorry,” she said successful a statement.