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The US will be able to base soldiers and equipment permanently in Denmark after the Scandinavian country reversed decades of foreign policy to become the last nation in the region to sign a defence co-operation agreement with Washington.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year has pushed Sweden, Finland and Denmark all to sign such deals with the US in recent days, a way of deepening security ties with the main military force in the west.
“We are sending a clear signal that Denmark, together with the US, is taking even greater responsibility for Danish security — and that is absolutely necessary,” Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s prime minister, said on Tuesday.
“The goal is: we must ensure peace not only now, but for the generations that come after us.”
Denmark has since the 1950s had a policy of not allowing foreign troops or nuclear weapons on its soil. Nuclear weapons will not be based in Denmark under the new 10-year agreement, but US troops will be allowed on three Danish air bases where — as is customary under such deals — they will be subject to US law.
All seven other Nordic and Baltic countries have defence co-operation agreements in addition to their membership of Nato, or in Sweden’s case its pending application to join the defence alliance.
The Nordic and Baltic regions have become a key western military and diplomatic focus following Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in 2022.
Finland’s addition to Nato in April doubled the length of the defence alliance’s border with Russia because of its 1,340km frontier. That border is currently closed after Russia encouraged undocumented asylum seekers to enter Finland without permission.
Nordic countries are increasingly discussing how they can integrate their own militaries, which are already closely linked and hold frequent joint training missions. Swedish Gripen and Norwegian F-35 fighter jets have taken off and landed on Finnish roads with their Nordic neighbours.
“The future is to play to each of our strengths. Finland is strong in land forces, Sweden is stronger in navy, and Norway has good expertise in the Arctic,” said one Nordic diplomat.
The US-Danish relationship was strained a few years ago when former American president Donald Trump floated the idea of buying Greenland, the semi-autonomous territory that is part of the kingdom of Denmark. He lashed out at Frederiksen when she insisted it was not for sale.
Danish ministers on Tuesday brushed aside questions about what would happen if Trump returns to power in elections next year, insisting that the 10-year defence co-operation agreement was the right one whoever is in power in Washington.
Frederiksen said: “It is always wise to have as close co-operation with the US as possible. It must not be possible to get even a sheet of paper between the Danish and American relationship.”
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