Just in: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' crisis team and international operations staff have been activated to deal with international reactions to the burning of the Quran.

The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just issued a statement which reads:

Since July 20, the government has activated the crisis management staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the international operations team. Last week, thousands of citizens in Islamic countries demonstrated against Denmark, and 15 countries issued official statements condemning Denmark. In addition, five Danish ambassadors and a chargé d'affaires were summoned for talks where criticism was expressed regarding Denmark's handling of the Quran burning.

The 57 foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation are scheduled to meet on Monday for an urgent discussion on new measures against Denmark and Sweden in response to the burning of the Quran.

.The Foreign Office is closely monitoring international reactions and is in dialogue with a number of key countries. For example, this week Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen held talks with the foreign ministers of countries including Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. To ensure sufficient resources are available to address the international response to the burning of the Quran, the Foreign Office's crisis staff and international operations team have been activated.

In practice, this means that many staff members have been called back to work and participate in daily meetings. Crisis staff meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs include both staff from the Ministry's headquarters in Copenhagen and its embassies. The focus is also on how key countries have recently reacted to the burning of the Quran in Denmark, and we are also monitoring the announced new demonstrations in Denmark and the potential international repercussions.

The debate that takes place in the meetings forms the basis for assessing the best ways for Denmark to maintain its diplomatic relations and secure Danish international interests in the current situation.

About the Foreign Office Crisis Team:

The Crisis Management Team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is an initiative that arose from the fall of Kabul in August 2021, when Danish authorities successfully evacuated approximately 1,100 people from Afghanistan. With the national settlement on Danish security policy and the subsequent agreement on enhanced diplomacy as of March 2022, it was decided to allocate the necessary funds to establish a permanent Crisis Response Team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The permanent crisis response team consists of 4 teams of 12 people, rotating around the clock to provide the State Department with a two-hour notice.

Basic information about the international operations staff:

The International Operations Team (IOS) is responsible for overall coordination in the event of a major incident abroad involving Denmark and Danish citizens. The permanent members of the IOS are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (which chairs the team), the State Secretariat, the Ministry of Justice, the National Police, the Ministry of Defence, the Defence Intelligence Service, the Defence Command, the National Emergency Management Agency, the Ministries of the Interior and Health, and the Danish Health Authority. Each individual authority represented in the IOS participates within its specific area of responsibility, in accordance with the principle of sectoral accountability.