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Denmark summons US envoy over alleged covert influence

operations

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Public broadcaster says campaigns aimed to promote

secession

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Trump has said he wants US to take over Arctic island

(Adds comment from White House official in paragraph 4)

By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Soren Jeppesen

COPENHAGEN, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Denmark's foreign

minister has summoned the top U.S. diplomat in Copenhagen over

intelligence reports alleging covert influence operations by

U.S. citizens in Greenland that aimed to whip up opposition to

Danish rule, the ministry said on Wednesday.

Public broadcaster DR, citing unnamed sources, reported that

at least three Americans with ties to President Donald Trump's

administration were suspected of involvement in the efforts,

which also sought to promote Greenland's secession from Denmark

to the United States.

Neither the minister nor the broadcaster disclosed the

identities of the Americans flagged in the intelligence reports.

The U.S. embassy in Copenhagen did not immediately respond

to a request for comment. A White House official said: "We think

the Danes need to calm down."

Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory rich in

minerals and strategically located in the Arctic, has been a

focal point of U.S. interest since Trump expressed ambitions to

acquire the territory, citing national and international

security concerns.

His proposal has been firmly rejected in both Copenhagen and

Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, which holds the right to declare

independence from Denmark through a referendum.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen denounced any

efforts to undermine relations between Denmark and Greenland.

"If anyone thinks they can influence it by creating a 'fifth

column' or that type of activity, then it is contrary to the way

states cooperate," said Rasmussen, calling it "completely

unacceptable".

"It is important for us to speak out very clearly against

the United States," he told reporters.

U.S. AMBITIONS

A March general election in Greenland - a former colony but

now a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark -

saw a pro-business party advocating a gradual independence

process secure victory.

Meanwhile, a party favouring rapid independence from Denmark

and closer ties with the U.S. garnered a quarter of the vote,

highlighting growing momentum for independence.

Seeking to counterbalance U.S. ambitions in the region,

Denmark has been trying to improve strained relations with

Greenland, rallying European allies for support.

While Trump has also since expressed respect for Greenland's

right to determine its own future, his comments about

potentially taking the territory by force have fuelled

uncertainty among its 57,000 inhabitants.

"The United States should not be allowed to influence our

future in this way. It is solely up to the Greenlandic people,"

Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament,

told Reuters.

Chemnitz said she believed the suspected influence

operations were part of Trump's broader campaign seeking to gain

control of the territory.

"I definitely think that this links back to the U.S.

government," Chemnitz said.

Denmark's national security and intelligence service, PET,

warned in a statement that Greenland remains a target for

influence campaigns, that could aim to exploit disagreements or

promote specific views about both Denmark and the United States.

Trump has picked PayPal ( PYPL ) co-founder Ken Howery as U.S.

ambassador to Denmark, but the U.S. mission in Copenhagen is

currently led by Charge d'affaires Mark Stroh, its website says.