Denmark summons US ambassador over Greenland spying report

Denmark’s overseas minister says he’ll summon the US ambassador to deal with a report that Washington’s spy companies have been advised to deal with Greenland amid Donald Trump’s threats to take over the island.

“It worries me significantly as a result of we don’t spy on pals,” Lars Løkke Rasmussen mentioned, responding to the report in The Wall Road Journal.

In line with the newspaper, US spy companies had been advised to focus efforts on the semi-autonomous nation’s independence motion, and American targets to extract mineral assets there.

Director of Nationwide Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accused the Journal of makes an attempt to “undermine” President Trump “by politicizing and leaking categorised info”.

Whereas not denying the report, she accused the newspaper of “breaking the regulation and undermining our nation’s safety and democracy”.

Rasmussen, who was attending an EU ministers assembly in Warsaw, mentioned the report was “considerably disturbing”.

“We’re going to name within the US appearing ambassador for a dialogue on the overseas ministry to see if we are able to affirm this info,” Rasmussen mentioned.

“It would not appear to be strongly rejected by those that converse out. That worries me.”

The Danish Safety and Intelligence Service (PET) declined to touch upon the article, however advised Danish media that it had “naturally” taken word of US curiosity in Greenland.

Based mostly on worldwide curiosity in Greenland typically, the company mentioned, there was an elevated espionage menace towards it and Denmark.

President Trump has repeatedly vowed to take management of Greenland, most lately telling NBC Information on Sunday that he had not dominated out utilizing army drive to grab the arctic island.

“I do not say I’ll do it, however I do not rule out something,” he mentioned. “We want Greenland very badly. Greenland is a really small quantity of individuals, which we’ll deal with, and we’ll cherish them, and all of that. However we’d like that for worldwide safety.”

Throughout a speech to Congress in March, Trump advised US lawmakers that “in some way, we’ll get it.”

Danish officers additionally condemned a go to to Greenland by Vice-President JD Vance in March.

Danish PM Mette Frederiksen mentioned the go to to a distant US army base “fully unacceptable stress on Greenland, Greenlandic politicians and the Greenlandic inhabitants”.

Former President Joe Biden, talking to BBC Information in his first interview since leaving workplace in January, condemned Trump’s requires the US to take again the Panama Canal, to accumulate Greenland and to make Canada the 51st state.

“What the hell’s occurring right here? What president ever talks like that? That is not who we’re,” Biden advised the BBC’s Nick Robinson.

“We’re about freedom, democracy, alternative, not about confiscation.”

Greenland, the world’s largest island, has been managed by Denmark for about 300 years. The island governs its personal home affairs, however overseas and defence coverage choices are made in Copenhagen.

The US has lengthy had a safety curiosity within the island. It has had a army base there since World Warfare Two, and Trump may have an curiosity within the uncommon earth minerals that might be mined.

Polls present that the overwhelming majority of Greenlanders need to turn into unbiased from Denmark however don’t want to turn into a part of the US.