前北约秘书长表示，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在格陵兰问题上使用的措辞，与他本应试图控制的俄罗斯的“流氓”如出一辙。
安德斯·福格·拉斯穆森同时也是丹麦前首相，他告诉《金融时报》，特朗普正在利用格陵兰“转移人们对真正威胁的注意力”，例如俄罗斯在乌克兰的战争。
拉斯穆森说，“对我来说，这是一个痛苦的过程。从小我就认为美国是自由世界的当然领袖。我甚至说过美国是世界警察。”他曾派遣丹麦军队与美国并肩作战于阿富汗。
“现在我们看到，美国使用的措辞与他们本应控制的莫斯科等地的‘流氓’非常相似。”
特朗普对北约盟国丹麦的强硬言论震惊了欧洲，他坚持必须从哥本哈根手中夺取格陵兰岛的控制权，并声称可以动用武力来实现这一目标。
本周，丹麦、格陵兰岛和美国决定成立一个高级别工作组，讨论能否就这座广袤的北极岛屿的未来达成妥协。
但工作组的职权范围几乎立即引发争议。白宫表示，该工作组将就“收购格陵兰岛进行技术性会谈”，而丹麦则坚持其“红线”是格陵兰岛不容出售。
曾于2001年至2009年担任丹麦首相，并担任北约秘书长五年的拉斯穆森表示，特朗普很熟悉转移视线的伎俩。
“我真正担心的是，世界现在的注意力集中在一个对欧洲和美国都不构成威胁的地方——格陵兰岛，美国的友好盟友——而不是关注当下真正应该关注的焦点：即我们如何才能迫使普京回到乌克兰谈判桌前？”
他补充道：“西方的分裂正中俄罗斯的下怀。我相信莫斯科希望格陵兰岛成为击垮北约的冰山。所以，这不仅仅关乎丹麦和格陵兰岛……征服格陵兰岛将意味着我们所知的世界秩序终结。”
这位前北约秘书长建议丹麦向特朗普提出三项具体建议。
他表示，1951年赋予美国对格陵兰岛巨大影响力的防务协议应该“更新和现代化”，以便更详细地说明华盛顿和北约“可以而且应该”在哪些地方建立更多军事基地。
美国目前在格陵兰岛拥有唯一的军事基地，驻扎着约150名士兵。但在冷战时期，美国在该岛拥有17个军事设施，驻军超过1万人。
拉斯穆森补充说，丹麦也应该提出一项投资协议，以吸引更多美国资金进入格陵兰岛的关键矿产资源，并制定一项稳定与韧性契约，“以防止俄罗斯和中国的影响”。
US President Donald Trump is using language on Greenland similar to that of the “gangsters” in Russia and China he should be trying to control, the former head of Nato has said.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who is also a former Danish prime minister, told the FT that Trump was using Greenland “as a weapon of mass distraction from the real threats” such as Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“For me, it’s been a painful process. Since childhood, I have considered the United States as the natural leader of the free world. I’ve even spoken about the US as the world’s policeman,” said Rasmussen, who sent Danish troops to fight with the US in Afghanistan.
“Now we see the United States use a language that’s pretty close to the gangsters that they should control in Moscow, Beijing, etc.”
Trump has shocked Europe with his aggressive rhetoric against Nato ally Denmark, insisting that he must take control of Greenland from Copenhagen and saying he could use military force to do so.
Denmark, Greenland and the US this week decided to set up a high-level working group to discuss whether a compromise is possible on the future of the vast Arctic island.
But there was an almost immediate dispute over its scope, with the White House saying the group would hold “technical talks on the acquisition of Greenland” while Denmark insisted its “red line” was that Greenland was not for sale.
Rasmussen, who was Denmark’s prime minister from 2001 to 2009 and then head of Nato for five years, said Trump was familiar with distraction tactics.
“I am actually concerned that the world’s attention is now focused on something that does not represent a threat, neither to Europe nor to the United States — namely Greenland, a friendly ally of the United States — instead of focusing on what should be the focal point right now: namely, how can we force Putin to the negotiation table in Ukraine?”
He added: “Divisions in the west play into Russian hands. I’m sure Moscow hopes Greenland becomes the iceberg that sinks Nato. So this goes beyond Denmark and Greenland . . . Conquering Greenland would be the end of the world order as we know it.”
The former Nato secretary-general suggested Denmark should present Trump with three concrete proposals.
A 1951 defence agreement that gives the US large sway over Greenland should be “updated and modernised” to give more details of where Washington and Nato “could and should” establish more military bases, he said.
The US currently has the sole military base in Greenland, with about 150 soldiers, but during the cold war it had 17 installations on the island and more than 10,000 troops.
Rasmussen added that Denmark should also put forward an investment agreement to attract more US money into critical minerals in Greenland as well as a stability and resilience compact “to prevent Russian and Chinese influence”.
