COPENHAGEN, Feb 10, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - NATO member Denmark said

Thursday it was ready to allow US military troops on its soil as part
of a new bilateral defence agreement with the US, amid rising tensions
between the West and Russia over Ukraine.

   The Scandinavian country has become one of Washington's closest
European allies in the past two decades, having fought alongside the
US in Iraq.

   "The United States has reached out to Denmark, proposing a
bilateral defence cooperation," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told
reporters.

   "The exact nature of this collaboration has not yet been defined
but it could include the presence of US troops, material and military
equipment on Danish soil," she added.

   The negotiations have been in the works for "a long time" and are
not a direct result of the current crisis between Russia and Ukraine,
Frederiksen said.

   But that crisis demonstrates the need for more cooperation, she added.

   "It is clear that the situation in Ukraine illustrates very, very
clearly that we cannot take our freedom, our peace and our security
for granted", the prime minister said.

   Norway and the Baltic states already have similar agreements with
Washington, Copenhagen said.

   "NATO and the United States are guarantors of our security. That is
why we join forces with the United States when Western values such as
democracy and freedom are under threat," said Danish Defence Minister
Morten Bodskov, who was also present at Thursday's press conference.

   - No base, no nukes -

   Researcher Peter Viggo Jakobsen of the Royal Danish Defence College
said Copenhagen's move was intended to send a signal to Russia.

   "The aim of this exercise is to show the Russians that we can
quickly reinforce the troops already present in the Baltic states and
Poland", he told news agency Ritzau.

   While the details of the cooperation remain to be hammered out,
Denmark said there were no plans for a new military base -- its
autonomous territory Greenland is already home to the Thule air base
-- nor nuclear weapons on its soil.

   "If the Americans say they want authorisation to put nuclear
weapons on Danish soil, the answer is no", insisted Bodskov.

   The United States announced in early February it was sending 3,000
US troops to Eastern Europe to support NATO forces, including 1,700 to
Poland, which also has a bilateral defence deal with the US.

   Denmark's main opposition party, the Liberals, said they were in
favour of the new defence cooperation deal, while two parties allied
with the government were critical.

   "The United States are our allies, but cooperation must remain
within the NATO framework", a senior member of the Socialist People's
Party, Karsten Honge, wrote on Twitter.

   Denmark said earlier this week it was boosting its military
preparedness in response to Russia's "unacceptable military pressure"
on Ukraine, increasing the readiness of a mobile NATO-operational
battalion of 700-800 troops.

   It also said it would also be ready to send two F-16 fighter jets
to its Baltic island of Bornholm "if judged necessary".