‘You can’t spy against an ally’: Denmark PM warns US amid Greenland espionage row

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said “you cannot spy against an ally” as tensions rose Thursday over reports that the United States has intensified intelligence-gathering efforts in Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory long eyed by US President Donald Trump.The comments came after Denmark summoned the top American diplomat in the country following a Wall Street Journal report that senior US intelligence officials under director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had ordered agencies to probe Greenland’s independence movement and attitudes toward US resource extraction on the mineral-rich Arctic island.Quoted by news agency Associated Press, Frederiksen called the allegations “rumors” in an international newspaper but made clear that such espionage, if true, would be unacceptable. “You cannot spy against an ally,” she said. “It’s that simple.”Jennifer Hall Godfrey, the acting head of the US embassy in Copenhagen, was called in to meet with high-ranking Danish diplomat Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen. A representative from Greenland’s government also joined the meeting, according to The New York Times.Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said outside a summit in Poland that the report was “very worrying,” adding, “We don’t spy between friends.” He said the purpose of summoning the US diplomat was to seek a “rebuttal or other explanation,” and warned against any attempts to “drive wedges into the unity of the kingdom.”Greenland, home to 56,000 residents, has seen heightened US interest in recent years. Trump famously floated the idea of buying the island in his first term and has pushed the same in his second term. Last month, he said he “wouldn’t rule out anything” regarding the acquisition of Greenland, insisting the island was vital for US national security, reported NBC News.Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen pushed back strongly against the Journal report, calling the alleged espionage “completely unacceptable,” “entirely abnormal,” and “disrespectful toward an ally,” reported The New York Times. “Greenland’s position has been made very, very clear,” Nielsen said.The Wall Street Journal, citing two unnamed sources, said Gabbard’s office had instructed agencies including the CIA and NSA to identify Greenlandic and Danish individuals supportive of US objectives in the region. In response, Gabbard issued a statement condemning leaks of classified information, calling them “criminal” and saying, “Those who leak classified information will be found and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”She also criticised the Journal for “aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the President by politicizing and leaking classified information.”In response, some Danish lawmakers have suggested closing the US consulate in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, accusing it of engaging in “subversive activities.” However, Rasmussen rejected the idea, calling it “a very far-reaching decision.”Denmark’s intelligence agency PET, while not commenting directly on the Journal’s claims, stated the country was facing its “most serious security policy situation since the end of the Cold War,” and noted “an elevated threat of espionage” due to increased foreign interest in Greenland.Security analyst Matias Seidelin was quoted by Danish news site OLFI saying that if the US indeed conducted surveillance in Greenland, it would mark “a hostile act” and “a breach of trust.” He added, “Danish politicians have to carefully balance not pushing the Americans away, while also not tolerating everything.”