Danish PM rebuts Russian ambassador over Bornholm comments
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Loading... - Helle Jorgensen
- 08 Apr 2022
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During a visit to Bornholm on Thursday, Frederiksen said she would not accept Russian advice against an agreement that could mean American soldiers stationed on Denmark’s Baltic Sea island.
A future bilateral agreement between the two countries could see US troops able to conduct operations in other countries based out of Danish harbours or one of the country’s three military air bases.
In February, prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Frederiksen said that Denmark was ready to allow US military troops on its soil as part of a new bilateral defence agreement with the United States.
Denmark and the United States would begin negotiations over a new bilateral defence agreement which could mean the presence of American soldiers in Denmark, Frederiksen said at the time.
“I can give a very short answer to this. The Russian ambassador should not get involved in what happens on Bornholm,” Frederiksen said on Thursday.
The Russian ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, said in February that an agreement existed between Denmark and Russia preventing American troops from being on Bornholm.
Barbin referred to an agreement made between Denmark and the Soviet Union in 1946, when Red Army troops left Bornholm following the liberation of Denmark at the end of World War II.
Frederiksen stressed in her comments that Denmark is a sovereign country.
“I want to be very clear. Russia has no admission to get involved in Danish defence policy – including what happens on Bornholm,” she said.
The Danish PM rejected suggestions that allowing American troops on Bornholm could be seen as an escalation of tensions between the West and Russia related to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“No, it is not. We want a closer relationship with the Americans,” Frederiksen said. Read More...
