1. Denmark
| Published date | 01 March 1972 |
| DOI | 10.1177/001083677200700116 |
| Date | 01 March 1972 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
155
Documentation
1.
DENMARK
A.
Extracts
from
opening
statement
by
Mr.
K.
B.
Andersen,
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs,
in
the
Foreign
Affairs
Debate
of
the
Folketing
(Parliament)
on
19
April
1972.
(Unofficial
translation
by
the
Ministry
of
Foreign
Affairs.)
.....................................
(2)
It
is
self-evident
that
developments
in
Europe
cannot
be
considered
in
isola-
tion
from
developments
in
the
rest
of
the
world.
I
shall
therefore
start
by
making
a
few
comments
on
the
general
interna-
tional
situation.
In
my
view
it
is
no
exag-
geration
to
say
that
the
world
today
pre-
sents
a
picture
which
is
very
different
from
what
it
was
only
a
few
years
ago.
The
system
of
frozen
fronts
and
patterns
of
foreign
policy
which
we
had
come
to
regard
as
more
or
less
constant
elements
of
the
international
situation
has
been
changing
materially
and
rapidly
in
the
last
few
years.
This
does
not,
unfortuna-
tely,
apply
to
the
situation
in
Vietnam.
I
shall
revert
to
this
question
later.
One
of the
most
conspicuous
examples
of
the
new
situation
was
President
Nixon’s
visit
to
Peking.
Only
a
few
years
ago,
such
a
visit
by
the
US
President
to
China which
the
United
States
had
no
diplomatic
relations
with
would
have
been
considered
quite
unthinkable.
It
is
still
too
early
to
say
anything
about
the
long-range
result
of
this
visit,
but
practically
everybody
admits
that
the
very
fact
that
the
two
parties
are
now
on
speaking
terms
after
20
years
of
hostility,
is
a
positive
factor
of
prime
importance.
In
view
of
this
visit,
together
with
the
gratifying
event
that
China,
after
20
years
of
waiting,
last
autumn
took
its
rightful
place
in
the
United
Nations
-
a
result
for
which
Denmark
has
been
working
consistently
-
we
must
now
ex-
pect
that
China
will
play a
greater
role
in
world
politics.
The
first
consequence
is
that
a
new
pattern
is
emerging
in
Asia
with
a
more
even
balance
between
the
four
powers,
the
United
States,
China,
the Soviet
Union
and
Japan.
Apprehension
has
been
expressed,
not
least
in
Europe,
that
the
American-
Chinese
rapprochement
could
have
harm-
ful
repercussions
on
the
relations
between
the
two
powers,
the
United
States
and
the
Soviet
Union,
which
have
so
far
been
dominant,
and
therefore
also
on
East-West
détente
in
general.
Apart
from
express
indications
by
the
United
States
that
the
approach
to
China
is
not
directed
against
any
other
nation,
this
anxiety
must
be
refuted
by
the
visit
to
Moscow
arranged
for
President
Nixon
next
month.
Other
indications
of
the
continuing
détente
are
the
US-Soviet
negotiations
for
strategic
arms
limitations
talks
(SALT),
Mr.
Brandt’s
bold
and
construc-
tive
Ostpolitik,
and
the
preparations
for
a
conference
on
security
and
cooperation
in
Europe
which,
among
Western
as
well
as
Eastern
and
neutral
nations,
has
en-
tered
upon
an
increasingly
decisive
phase
and
which,
in
the
absence
of
mishaps,
may
be
held
not
later
than
next
spring.
(3)
So,
there
are
many
indications
of
a
turning
point
in
postwar
history,
the
contours
of
which
have
been
noticeable
in
Europe
for
some
time.
The
first
step
in
that
direction
was
taken
already
about
10
years
ago
when
Denmark
was
among
the
first
Western
countries
to
initiate
a
dialogue
with
the
countries
of
Eastern
Europe.
This
dialogue
has
since
become
a
significant
factor
in
the
relations
between
Eastern
and
West-
ern
Europe.
Because
of
the
central
place
which
the
German
question
holds
in
this
context,
this
dialogue
did
not
acquire
real
content
and
significance
before
(until)
the
present
Government
of
the
Federal
Re-
public
took
office.
Its
Ostpolitik
has
com-
manded
the
greatest
respect
and
has
been
greeted
with
satisfaction
both
in
Denmark
and
in
other
Western
and
Eastern
coun-
tries.
To continue reading
Request your trial