Danish leader says ‘you cannot spy against an ally’ after reports of US gathering Greenland info

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told the Associated Press “you cannot spy against an ally” after reports that the United States has stepped up intelligence gathering on Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory coveted by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Denmark Thursday summoned the top American diplomat in the country for an explanation following a Wall Street Journal report which said several high-ranking officials under the U.S. director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, had directed intelligence agency heads to learn more about Greenland’s independence movement and sentiment about U.S. resource extraction there.

Frederiksen said the report was “rumors” in an international newspaper. The Journal, cited two people familiar with the U.S. effort which it did not identify.