Denmark plans to call in US ambassador over Greenland spying report

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OSLO (Reuters) -Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Wednesday he would call in the acting U.S. ambassador to Denmark for talks after the Wall Street Journal reported Washington had ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to step up spying on Greenland.

“I have read the article in the Wall Street Journal and it worries me greatly because we do not spy on friends,” Rasmussen told reporters during an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Warsaw.

“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, which is somewhat disturbing,” Rasmussen added.

The U.S. is stepping up its intelligence-gathering efforts regarding Greenland, drawing America’s spying apparatus into President Donald Trump’s campaign to take over the island, the WSJ reported on Tuesday, citing two anonymous sources.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the department does not comment on intelligence matters and referred to an earlier comment from National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt, who said Trump has been very clear that the U.S. is concerned about the security of Greenland and the Arctic.

Trump has repeatedly said he wants to take over Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory in the Arctic, refusing to rule out annexation by force, creating a diplomatic crisis between the U.S., Denmark and Greenland.

The leaders of Denmark and Greenland have said only Greenlanders can decide the territory’s future.

However, they have found themselves treading a delicate line between firmly dismissing U.S. ambitions over Greenland and trying to maintain good ties with their traditional ally.

(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; Additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Steve Holland; Editing by Essi Lehto, Mark Potter and Diane Craft)