Former ambassador: "We should not be the ones holding the door open"

After a challenging week for the relationship between Europe and the U.S., there is more than hope left, according to Denmark's former ambassador to NATO, Lone Wisborg.

The West still stands. But how can we ensure that Europe and the U.S. don't drift apart? Such questions were posed in a special broadcast Sunday by Deadline. 52 minutes ago

All is not lost, and the West still stands.

Even though the relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine fractured on Friday, when Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump publicly argued in front of cameras (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/trump-og-zelenskyj-skaendes-aabne-kameraer-du-gambler-med-tredje-verdenskrig),

Such is the view among others from foreign editor at Weekendavisen, Anna Libak.

But is it just a matter of time before the 75-year-old NATO alliance, formed after World War II, is disbanded?

And what should the EU do now to maintain its relationship with the U.S., which Ukraine relies on to end the war with Russia?

These are some of the questions that Sunday prompted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to call a series of state and government leaders to a crisis meeting in London (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/alles-oejne-hvilede-paa-dem-det-sagde-toplederne-efter-afgoerende-moede-i-london).

The meeting followed a week during which the U.S. also voted on the same side as Russia in the United Nations Security Council on a resolution that did not place blame for the war on Russia (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/usa-stemmer-paa-samme-side-som-rusland-i-fn-resolution-der-ikke-placerer-ansvaret), and during which Trump rejected Ukraine's desire for NATO membership.

How Europe is faring, assesses among others Lone Wisborg in a special broadcast of Deadline Sunday evening.

She has 30 years of diplomatic experience, was formerly ambassador to the U.S. and until December 2024 was Denmark's NATO ambassador.

Is it, what Europe has left now, hope that the U.S. will remain at the table, remain in NATO and remain in Ukraine?

- I don't think it's just hope, she says.

- We should not be the ones who close the door. We should continue to engage the U.S., even when it looks difficult, and we should with the other hand make sure to invest as much as we possibly can in our defense.

She agrees with Libak that the West as a concept has not disappeared.

- The next four years look challenging. But there is no one who says that it cannot be repaired, she says.

You can see the entire interview in a special broadcast of Deadline on DRTV (https://www.dr.dk/drtv/serie/deadline_7111).

News and Current Affairs Deadline (https://www.dr.dk/drtv/serie/deadline_7111)

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