Ex-NATO Chief Urges New Democratic Alliance Amid Trump-Era Uncertainty

COPENHAGEN, May 12 (Bernama-dpa) -- Former NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen called for a new alliance of democratic nations capable of standing up to the United States (US) if necessary, saying President Donald Trump appeared to be pulling the country back from its traditional global leadership role, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

"Since childhood, I have admired the US and considered the United States a natural leader of the free world," Rasmussen told the Democracy News Alliance, a joint service of leading international news agencies, ahead of the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday. 

"But it appears that President Trump has retired from that role. So, we need a new leader of the free world," Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen, 73, said the proposed alliance could include the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, and could be called the "D7," with the "D" standing for democracy.

"If we act together, if we join forces, act collectively, then we represent a formidable force," said Rasmussen, who served as NATO chief from 2009 to 2014 and as Danish prime minister from 2001 to 2009.

He proposed an "economic Article 5" modelled on NATO’s mutual defence clause, under which an economic attack on one member would be treated as an attack on all, aimed at countering economic coercion from countries such as China and potentially the US.

Rasmussen also called for closer cooperation on technology standards, for a reduced dependence on critical raw materials and for an increase in investment in the Global South as an alternative to Chinese funding.

He said threats between allies were "unacceptable," referring to the dispute between Washington and Copenhagen over Danish-administered Greenland, and described the Trump administration's unpredictability as his biggest concern.

-- BERNAMA-dpa