Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Moderates) is troubled by an accusation from an American media outlet alleging that U.S. intelligence agencies are planning to spy on Greenland with the intention of taking over the island. In response, Løkke, who views the allegations as problematic, has summoned the acting U.S. ambassador for a meeting to seek an explanation.
This undoubtedly puts further strain on the transatlantic relationship between Denmark and the U.S., following months of tension centered around Greenland. This is the assessment of Denmark’s former ambassador in the U.S., Friis Arne Petersen.
»We have always maintained a relationship of trust with the American government under various presidents, and we wish to continue that in the future. Therefore, there is no need for espionage between Denmark and the U.S. Lars Løkke Rasmussen will make this very clear to the acting U.S. ambassador when they meet,« says Friis Arne Petersen, who is a former director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served as Denmark’s ambassador in the U.S. from 2005 to 2010.
In recent months, the Danish government’s rhetoric towards American overtures has sharpened as President Donald Trump has continued to express his views on how the U.S. should take over Greenland for the sake of world peace. Nevertheless, it is a notably assertive Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs who is now taking a firm stand, according to the former ambassador.
»This is a clear diplomatic gesture from the minister. It could have been a department head or the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who summoned the ambassador for a meeting, and that would still have been serious. But the fact that it is Lars Løkke Rasmussen himself is worth noting. It is unusual and underscores the gravity of the situation,« he says.
Espionage is no surprise
Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard, a senior analyst at the Danish Institute for International Studies (Diis), concurs.
»Under normal circumstances, Denmark and the U.S. would resolve a diplomatic issue behind closed doors, but now the government is stepping up to the U.S., and they need to demonstrate that,« says Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard.
For him, it’s not the espionage that’s surprising. It’s the way the government chooses to handle it that will be crucial for the future.
»I am certainly not surprised, and I doubt that Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Moderates) is either. All countries know that they spy on each other—even close allies. The surprising part is that it has become public, as is the case here. Therefore, the minister must respond with the seriousness we are seeing now. It will be interesting to see the actual impact of the meeting between the minister and the ambassador,« he says.
read next
