Denmark said it would summon the top U.S. diplomat in the country for clarification following a Wall Street Journal report that the United States had stepped up intelligence gathering on Greenland, the semi-autonomous Danish territory that President Donald Trump is seeking to seize.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told DR television after a meeting with his counterparts in Poland that Denmark would summon the US chargé d'affaires to ask for a “retraction” or other clarification regarding the publication of the report.
The Journal, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the U.S. work, reported that several senior officials, led by U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, have directed intelligence agencies to look deeper into the Greenlandic independence movement and U.S. resource management in the region.
The U.S. Embassy did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press on Thursday seeking comment about the subpoena for the U.S. diplomat in Copenhagen, Jennifer Hall Godfrey.
The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not comment on the situation in its statement, limiting itself to citing Mr. Rasmussen's words.
Mr Rasmussen, who has previously criticised the Trump administration for its comments about its NATO ally Denmark and Greenland, said the information in the report was “very disturbing” and that “we are not in the business of spying on our friends”.
“We take this very seriously,” he added.
Last month, Greenland's prime minister said US claims about the mineral-rich Arctic island were disreputable and that it would “never, under any circumstances, become property that anyone can buy.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that Washington will respect Greenland's right to self-determination and noted that Greenlanders “do not want to be part of Denmark.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
