Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Friday that “you can’t monitor allies” in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s continued recommendation to buy the Arctic island, a U.S. report that it is gathering intelligence on Greenland.
"Cooperation in defense and deterrence and security in northern Europe is becoming increasingly important," Frederiksen told the Associated Press. "Of course, you can't monitor allies."
Frederiksen commented as Denmark and Greenland overturned Trump's desire to acquire Danish autonomous territory and stressed that it would not be sold. However, despite Denmark being a NATO ally, Trump has not ruled out military forces.
Greenland Prime Minister says islands cannot be purchased and the United States "disrespectful"
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen listened at the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) meeting in Oslo on Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP)
"I don't rule it out. I won't say I'm going to do it, but I don't rule out anything," Trump said in an interview with NBC News earlier this week.
He added: "We need Greenland very much. Greenland is a very small number of people, we will take care of them, we will cherish them, but all of this requires international security."
The Danish Prime Minister’s statement on Friday comes the day after Denmark summoned top U.S. diplomats to explain the Wall Street Journal report, which introduced several senior officials under the U.S. national intelligence company Tulsi Gabbard, directed the Intelligence Agency to collect information about the Greenland independence movement and learn about the Greenland independence movement.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer talks with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) Leaders' Summit in Oslo on Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP)
Jennifer Hall Godfrey's acting director of the U.S. Embassy met with Danish diplomat Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen at the Danish Foreign Ministry, although details of the meeting have not been disclosed yet.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told Greenland newspaper Sermitsiaq that reports on U.S. espionage is unacceptable and disrespectful.
Nelson said last month that Greenland “will never be a property that anyone can buy” and that “the U.S. negotiations do not respect it.”
Trump says he is not "trolling" to get Canadian Greenland in the 51st state
Officials under U.S. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard directed intelligence agencies to collect information about Greenland’s independence movement and observe views on U.S. resource extraction. (Getty Image)
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Gabbard's office issued a statement saying she had made three "crime" referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice in response to the Wall Street Journal report, introducing two sources familiar with the matter.
"The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed of helping deep state actors who undermine the president by politicizing and leaking confidential information," Gabbard said. "They are breaking the law and undermining the security and democracy of our country. Those who leak confidential information will be found and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.