76-year-old document the core of Danish-Russian diplomatic conflict – NRK Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
Relations between Denmark and Russia are about to reach the freezing point. At the heart of the conflict is an island. For most best known for round churches, beaches, cliffs and long sunny days.
But the eye also has a dramatic story, which now casts shadows over the idyll.
It started a week ago. On February 10, the Danish Ministry of Defense sent out a press release.
The defense agreement must be cast in the same form as the agreement Norway and the USA entered into in April 2021.
The reaction after agreements between the USA and Norway has been relatively mild. But the news of an equal agreement between Denmark and the United States has become a diplomatic headache.
READ MORE: Fear of American soldiers in Norway can not be prosecuted
“Assessing Implications”
On Tuesday this week, the Russian ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir V. Barbin, appeared in the newspaper Berlingske.
“If Denmark allows such a step – if foreign troops arrive on Bornholm – then Russia will be forced to consider what implications it will have for the relationship between Russia and Denmark,” he said. to the newspaper.
The statement can hardly be interpreted as anything other than a threat of sanctions.
On Wednesday night, the conflict escalated further. Then the Russian embassy in Denmark posted a twitter message with a picture of two documents from 1946.
Yesterday it is clear that the Russian embassy believes the documents prove that Denmark has undertaken not to report foreign forces on Bornholm in 1946. They believe that the agreement still applies because it is not limited in time.
The Soviet Union and Bornholm
But why has Denmark entered into such an agreement at all?
It’s about the game after World War II. Because when Denmark became free in May 1945, the German commander on Bornholm would not surrender.
The sea route past Bornholm was an important route for evacuating German soldiers. For several days, the Germans withstood Soviet aircraft that bombed Bornholm a number of times. But in the end, they gave up.
Because Bornholm, according to Soviet authorities, lay east of the dividing line between the Soviet Union and Western allies in Germany, Soviet forces took control of the eye. It was to last until the military situation in Germany was clarified.
Agreed
The presence of the Soviets lasted for barely a year.
In the last weeks before the Soviets withdrew from Bornholm in 1946, Denmark’s ambassador to Moscow, Thomas Døssing, and the Soviet Union’s foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov, wrote several letters and notes to each other.
The letters include the following:
“To the extent that the Danish Government currently has the opportunity to occupy Bornholm with its own forces (…) begin the withdrawal of Russian forces on Bornholm and end the withdrawal no later than within a month.”
It is this document that the Russians believe continues to apply.
«The agreement does not exist»
But the Danish Foreign Minister, Jeppe Kofod (S), who grew up on and was a member of the Folketing for Bornholm, does not seem to lose the night’s sleep from the Russians’ agitation.
– This is neither the first nor the last time there are erroneous allegations about the existence of such an agreement. It does not make it any more right, and I just want to be completely calm. Such an agreement does not exist, says Kofod and adds:
– It is only Denmark that decides what is to take place on Danish soil. That’s how it is now. This is also the case in the future, he says.
Several politicians sitting in the Folketing have also commented on the matter to various Danish media. Among other things, foreign policy spokesman for the Conservative People’s Party, Marcus Knuth.
– There is no corner of Denmark where Russia has any kind of special right, he quickly said above Berlingske.
400 km to Russia
But why is this eye in the Baltic Sea so terribly important? It is, of course, about strategic location.
– Bornholm is very close to Kaliningrad. If one imagines that Denmark and the USA will install military equipment on Bornholm, then they will be less than 400 km from Russia – no Russians can accept, says Niels Bo Poulsen, head of department at the Defense Academy, to Extra Bladet.
Poulsen adds that he does not think it would be a good idea to place American troops on Bornholm:
– The consequence may be more threatening behavior from Russia. This may involve increased military activity, such as more overflights and sailings close to the Danish borders, he says.
But first, the question of whether the documents, or the notes, have any legal significance today.
So far, all indications are that the answer is a resounding “no”. At least from the Danish side.