U.S. President Donald Trump has persisted in suggesting buying the Arctic island of Greenland, prompting Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to say on Friday that “you cannot spy against an ally” in reaction to rumors that the United States was collecting intelligence on the island.
For Frederiksen, “cooperation about defense and deterrence and security in the northern part of Europe is getting more and more important,” as he told The Associated Press. “Of course, you cannot spy against an ally.”
The remarks by Frederiksen come as Greenland and Denmark are resisting Trump’s bid to buy the Danish archipelago, which is currently not for sale. Despite Denmark’s status as a NATO partner, Trump has not disregarded the possibility of acquiring it by military force.
Nothing is ruled out. “I don’t say I’m going to do it, but I don’t rule out anything,” Trump said earlier this week during an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
Greenland is really necessary for us. A tiny number of people live in Greenland, and while we will care for and appreciate them, we must do it for the sake of global security, he stressed.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, several high-ranking officials under the U.S. director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, were ordered to gather information about Greenland’s independence movement and opinions regarding U.S. resource extraction on the island. The Danish prime minister made a statement the day after summoning the top American diplomat in the country to explain this development.
In an undisclosed meeting at the Danish Foreign Ministry, acting U.S. ambassador to Denmark Jennifer Hall Godfrey met with Danish diplomat Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen.
In an interview with the Greenlandic daily Sermitsiaq, Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen expressed his strong disapproval and contempt for the allegations of American spying.
Just last month, Nielsen made it clear that Greenland “will never, ever be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone” and that “the talks from the United States have not been respectful.”
In reaction to the article by The Wall Street Journal, which cited two persons familiar with the subject, Gabbard’s office issued a statement stating that she has sent three cases to the U.S. Justice Department with “criminal” charges related to intelligence community breaches.
“The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed of aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the President by politicizing and leaking classified information,” added Gabbard. They pose a threat to national security and democracy while also violating the law. We will track down anyone responsible for leaking secret material and punish them severely.
