Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, expressed concern over reports that the United States’ intelligence community is stepping up scrutiny of Greenland amid President Donald Trump’s push to acquire the island.
“It worries me greatly because we do not spy on friends,” Rasmussen said, according to the Ritzau news agency.
His comments responded to a Wall Street Journal report claiming that top officials under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued a “collection emphasis message” directing spy agencies “to learn more about Greenland’s independence movement and attitudes on American resource extraction on the island.” The report cited two anonymous sources and was condemned by Gabbard as “aiding deep state actors” and “breaking the law.”
Rasmussen, who was attending a European Union ministers meeting in Warsaw, called the report “somewhat disturbing.”
“We are going to call in the U.S. acting ambassador for a discussion at the foreign ministry to see if we can confirm this information,” he added. “It doesn’t seem to be strongly rejected by those who speak out. That worries me.”
Denmark, a NATO ally, controls Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory that lies in the Arctic Circle.
US MILITARY FORCE TO TAKE GREENLAND ‘COULD HAPPEN,’ TRUMP REITERATES
The world’s largest island has long been coveted worldwide for its strategic location and wealth of valuable resources. Russia and China, in particular, have ramped up activity in the region, raising concerns from Denmark and geopolitical experts that the island is vulnerable to hostile activity.
President Donald Trump has similarly expressed unease about the matter, arguing Greenland needs escalated protection from the U.S. to safeguard international security. He has not ruled out military force as a means to acquire the island, saying that it is “not possible to properly defend a large section of this Earth, not just the United States, without it.”
