Denmark PM says 'you cannot spy against an ally' following reports of US spying on Greenland

Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen explained Friday that you cannot spy against an ally in response to reports that the U S was gathering intelligence on Greenland as U S President Donald Trump has continued to suggest purchasing the Arctic island Cooperation about defense and deterrence and protection in the northern part of Europe is getting more and more significant Frederiksen recounted The Associated Press Of class you cannot spy against an ally Frederiksen made the comments as Denmark and Greenland push back on Trump's desire to acquire the autonomous Danish territory stressing that it is not for sale Trump however has not ruled out taking it by military force despite Denmark being a NATO ally GREENLAND'S PRIME MINISTER SAYS ISLAND CANNOT BE BOUGHT US HAS 'NOT BEEN RESPECTFUL' I don t rule it out I don t say I m going to do it but I don t rule out anything Trump reported earlier this week during an interview on NBC News' Meet the Press We need Greenland very badly Greenland is a very small amount of people which we ll take care of and we ll cherish them and all of that but we need that for international shield he added The Danish prime minister's message on Friday came the day after Denmark summoned the top American diplomat in the country for an explanation to a statement from The Wall Street Journal about several high-ranking agents under the U S director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard directing intelligence agency heads to collect information on Greenland s independence movement and views about U S stock extraction on the island Acting head of the U S Embassy in Copenhagen Jennifer Hall Godfrey met with Danish diplomat Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen at the Danish Foreign Ministry although details of the meeting were not disclosed Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen recounted Greenland newspaper Sermitsiaq that the reports of U S espionage are unacceptable and disrespectful Nielsen explained last month that Greenland will never ever be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone and that the talks from the United States have not been respectful TRUMP SAYS HE WASN'T 'TROLLING' ABOUT ACQUIRING GREENLAND CANADA AS ST STATEGabbard s office distributed a announcement saying she had made three criminal referrals to the U S Justice Department over intelligence area leaks in response to the overview from The Wall Street Journal which cited two sources familiar with the matter The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed of aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the President by politicizing and leaking classified information Gabbard mentioned They are latest the law and undermining our nation s guard and democracy Those who leak classified information will be located and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law The Associated Press contributed to this account