Former NATO Secretary General and former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen discussed the potential impact of Donald Trump’s return to the Ukraine war and NATO.
The unpredictability of the elected U.S. president, Donald Trump, could cause concern in Moscow, and Ukraine may receive more weapons under his leadership, said Rasmussen in an interview with Euronews. He warned Trump: “Don’t make Ukraine your Afghanistan.”
Rasmussen, who led NATO for years, stated that Trump doesn’t like being a loser and prefers to be a winner. “And to be a winner, you need to have a good deal,” he added. He believes such a deal would mean Ukraine receiving more weapons and seeing restrictions on weapon usage lifted.
“Putin could be negatively surprised by Mr. Trump,” Rasmussen said, emphasizing: “I would simply say: Mr. Trump, don’t make Ukraine your Afghanistan.”
Since leaving NATO, Rasmussen established a Global Foundation with offices in Copenhagen, Brussels, and Kyiv.
“I have a very clear message for the new American president—don’t let Ukraine become your Afghanistan,” he said, adding: “Don’t let Putin defeat you, be a strong leader, seek peace in Ukraine, but a just and sustainable peace that will guarantee security in the future.”
Regarding whether any future peace agreement should limit Ukraine’s NATO membership, Rasmussen was opposed.
“There should be a solution that guarantees stability for Ukraine. In my opinion, this means allowing Ukraine to become a NATO member and be covered by Article 5,” he said, referring to the clause where NATO considers an attack on one member as an attack on all.
On the potential influence of Trump on NATO, Rasmussen was also positive.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the alliance, complaining that the U.S. contributes too much to its budget while EU members spend too little on defense. During his election campaign, he stated that the U.S. would defend NATO members from an attack by Russia only if they fulfilled their defense spending commitments.
“NATO has survived since its foundation in 1949, and I don’t think Trump will withdraw from NATO. But it depends a lot on us in Europe to ensure a strong NATO in the future by taking more responsibility for our future,” he said, adding that the current goal for NATO members to spend 2% of their GDP on defense should be “pushed” to 3%. “Such a figure would reflect more the Cold War, and we need to go back to that level,” he said.
When asked what advice he would give to Mark Rutte, the new NATO Secretary General, Rasmussen continued on the theme of funding.
“I hope he will continue pushing for more investments in defense. All alliance members must invest much more in our security in Europe.”
