An agreement between Denmark and the USA has caused the Russian ambassador in Copenhagen to react.
Now he threatens that Russia may respond to the agreement.
“Hostile acts will be considered in our military planning,” Ambassador Vladimir Barbin told the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti.
In December, a new defense agreement was signed between Denmark and the USA. The agreement means, among other things, that the US can deploy soldiers and equipment on Danish soil.
– We live in a violent time with many forces that challenge our democracy and the democratic rules of the game, said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen when the agreement was presented at the end of December, TT reports.
“New challenges” for Russia
Just over a month after the Danish Prime Minister’s words, the Russian ambassador Vladimir Barbin spoke about the agreement on Saturday. In an interview with the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti, he says that the agreement is a threat to Russia in the Baltic Sea area.
– American military will have the opportunity to have a permanent presence on Danish territory, which means new challenges for our country’s security in the Baltic Sea, says Vladimir Barbin to Ria Novosti.
The ambassador also directs a threat against Denmark, it reports American think tank ISW. Barbin tells Ria Novosi that hostile actions will be “considered in our military planning” and he also criticizes Denmark’s support for Ukraine during the interview.
Barbin has previously been ambassador to both Finland and Sweden and, according to the embassy’s website, speaks both Finnish and Swedish. Since 2019 he has worked as Russia’s ambassador to Denmark.
Sweden has entered into a similar agreement
According to Mette Frederiksen, the agreement between Denmark and the USA was a change of course in the country’s defense policy. Denmark has been a member of NATO since the formation of the alliance in 1949, but with the agreement, US military can be permanently stationed at three air bases in Jutland.
Sweden and the US signed a similar agreement at the beginning of December. The Swedish-American agreement is called “Defence Cooperation Agreement” (DCA) and gives American military access to Swedish military bases in 17 different locations around the country.
– It is designed to create conditions and provide a high degree of flexibility in the continued operational development of defense cooperation. We will together analyze the needs in detail, said Major General Johan Pekkari when the agreement was announced.