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Former NATO Secretary General and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen spoke about the expected impact of President Donald Trump's return to NATO and the Ukraine war.
"The unpredictability of the US president-elect, Donald Trump, may cause concern in Moscow and Ukraine may receive more weapons under his leadership ," former NATO chief Anders Rasmussen said in an interview with Euronea.
He called on Trump not to make Ukraine their Afghanistan.
The former Danish prime minister said of Trump: " He doesn't like to be a loser, he wants to be a winner. And to be a winner you have to have a good deal.”
Such a deal would mean Ukraine could get more weapons and see restrictions on the use of weapons lifted, Rasmussen believes.
Since leading NATO, Rasmussen has established a Global Foundation with offices in Copenhagen, Brussels and Kiev.
"I have a very clear message for the new American president - don't let Ukraine become your Afghanistan ," Rasmussen said, adding: "Don't let Putin beat you, be a strong leader, seek peace in Ukraine . but fair, just and lasting peace, which will guarantee security in the future".
As for whether any future peace deal should limit Ukraine's NATO membership, Rasmussen is opposed.
"It should be a solution that will guarantee stability for Ukraine. In my view, that means allowing Ukraine to become a member of NATO and be covered by Article 5,” he said, referring to the saying when a NATO member is a victim. of an armed attack, the Alliance considers it an attack against all members.
As for Trump's impact on NATO in general, Rasmussen was also positive. Trump has repeatedly criticized the alliance and complained that the US contributes too much to its budget, while EU members spend too little on defence. During his election campaign, he said the US would protect NATO members from a future attack by Russia only if they met their defense spending obligations.
"NATO has survived since its founding in 1949 and I don't think Trump will withdraw from NATO. But it is very much up to us in Europe to ensure a strong NATO in the future by taking more responsibility for our future," he said, adding that the current target for NATO members to spend 2% of GDP for defense, it should be pushed to 3%. Such a figure is more reflective of the Cold War and "we must return to this level", he said.
Asked what advice he would offer Mark Rutte, the organization's new secretary general, Rasmussen continued on the topic of funding. "I hope he will continue to push for more investment in defence. All members of the alliance must invest much more in our security in Europe, " he said.
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