No good options as Denmark seeks to counter U.S. threats to Greenland

By Elías Thorsson May 8, 2025
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As U.S. President Donald Trump ramps up his aggressive stance towards Greenland, Copenhagen has responded with a flurry of often disjointed political manoeuvres and the public in the Arctic semi-autonomous country worries about what comes next.

A view of the old city of Nuuk, Greenland, March 29, 2025. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump had instructed U.S. intelligence agencies to ramp up espionage efforts in Greenland. The aim: to map out potential collaborators, gauge public sentiment toward the United States, and monitor views on autonomy from Denmark and access to Greenland’s resources.

The move follows recent comments in which Trump declined to rule out using military force to take the territory, calling the NATO country critical to national security. Since Trump returned to office in January, relations between the nominally allied nations have continued to deteriorate.

“I am deeply concerned, friends don’t spy on each other,” that was the initial response from the Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. Speaking at an EU conference in Warsaw, Poland yesterday, he announced that he would summon the U.S. ambassador to a meeting at his embassy to seek clarification regarding the WSJ report.

“I can’t be certain that something is true just because it is written in a newspaper, but it doesn’t seem like the authorities in Washington are particularly concerned with refuting the story and that worries me,” Rasmussen added.

Pipaluk Lynge, who is chair of the foreign and security policy committee in the Greenlandic parliament, indicated that the threat posed by the U.S. was very real.

    “It has become a notch more serious when Lars Løkke Rasmussen summons an ambassador,” she says. “Personally, I have taken the threat from the U.S. very seriously, but Greenland needs to wake up now to just how serious this is,” she says.

    The Danish intelligence community seems to share these concerns and in a written response to Danish public broadcaster DR, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) wrote that U.S. actions were impacting its threat assessment.

    “It is the assessment of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) that, due to American interest and the increased international focus on Greenland, there is generally an elevated threat of espionage and foreign influence against both Denmark and Greenland.”

    Much has changed since U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen participated in a Defense Cooperation Agreement signing ceremony at the State Department in Washington, U.S., December 21, 2023. REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson

    Close it down and kick them out

    Several Greenlandic and Danish politicians have in recent months called for the U.S. consulate in Nuuk to be closed down. Speaking with radio program P1 Morgen, Conservative Party’s spokesperson on Greenland, Rasmus Jarlov, mentioned that the consulate was originally allowed to have a consulate in Nuuk to promote positive relations between Greenland and the U.S., a mandate that now seems to have radically changed.

    “The consulate’s main task is to undermine Greenland and especially to undermine the relationship between Denmark and Greenland. That’s not something we have any interest in,” he said. “But certainly not to carry out subversive activities. I find it hard to imagine the Americans would allow that from another country.”

    Jarlov believes what is being witnessed is only the tip of the iceberg and that more revelation about U.S. espionage operations in Greenland will come to light in the future.

    “It is completely predictable, and more of the same is coming. In the time ahead, they will do everything they can to discredit Denmark’s presence in Greenland and support separatists,” he said. “There will be more and more of this in the near future with the goal of pushing Denmark out, so they can take control of Greenland and ultimately seize all the resources.”

    The U.S. Consulate in Nuuk was officially reopened on June 10, 2020, marking the restoration of a diplomatic presence that had been absent since 1953.

    In Nuuk, several Greenlanders shared their reactions to the espionage report with DR. Among them was Arnaq Johansen, who expressed deep unease about the situation. She believes the situation is serious enough to consider shutting down the U.S. consulate in Nuuk: “If they’re spying on us, I think it should be closed.”

    “I’ve been afraid since Trump became president. I feel unsafe, and I don’t know who to trust—unfortunately,” she said.

    Johansen welcomed the decision to summon the U.S. ambassador for talks at Denmark’s Foreign Ministry, saying it was reassuring to know someone was watching over Greenland from the outside.

    “We can’t do anything from here,” she added.

    The charm offensive

    A March 6 poll conducted by Danish newspaper Berlingske showed that 41% of Danes view the U.S. as a serious threat. Denmark’s options for responding to increased U.S. belligerence are quite limited, but politically the focus has been on speaking softly, yet firmly and drumming up EU support. Meanwhile, the small Scandinavian nation has tried to garner sympathy and understanding from Americans.

    On their X.com account (former Twitter), the Danish embassy in Washington, D.C. has announced it is hosting an event in the U.S. capitol Saturday, where attendees can sample food from the Kingdom of Denmark and learn about the relationship between the three nations that make up the kingdom.

    “Meet our team, enjoy the activities, and get a taste of the Kingdom (bring cash),” the embassy wrote in its announcement.