Danish FM says Europe must massively rearm

COPENHAGEN: Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has told AFP that Europe must massively rearm in the face of “mixed signals” from the United States under Donald Trump.

“Europe has to do much more in order to defend ourselves, but also in order to support Ukraine. Because we are in a very, very critical period in world history,” Lokke told AFP in Copenhagen on Wednesday evening.

His comments came hours after Copenhagen said it was upping defence spending by 50 billion kroner ($7 billion) over the next two years to met what he said was an increasing threat from Russia.

“We have some kind of mixed signals from the US. I think the jury is still out,” Lokke told AFP, while insisting that Denmark remains a staunch US ally. “So, the way we respond and the way we act today will also have an influence on how the US will respond and act tomorrow,” the top diplomat said.

“We have been with Ukraine from the very first day because we have realised that this is not just about Ukraine. It´s basically about the security architecture in Europe,” Lokke said. “We know that Russia has the capability, if the Ukraine war ends in a non-successful way, to attack neighbouring countries and even Nato countries within a few years,” he added.