Europe faces "dramatically changed security environment": NATO chief

Visiting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said here on Monday that Europe is in a security environment that has changed dramatically and NATO is, as such, responding with the biggest reinforcement of collective defense since the end of the Cold War.

Stoltenberg made the remarks during his visit to Denmark on Monday. He met Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Defense Minister Nicolai Wammen, and other senior government officials.

A shooting attack here in February led to three people's death, including the shooter.

Stoltenberg thanked Denmark for its commitment to the Alliance, particularly the Alliance's missile defense system.

The NATO chief said the missile defense system aims to protect Allied member nations against threats from outside the Euro-Atlantic area. He underlined that the system is neither designed nor directed against Russia.

During his visit, Stoltenberg attended a private audience with Danish Queen Margrethe II and met Mogens Lykketoft, the Speaker of the Danish Parliament and incoming president of the United Nations General Assembly.

Stoltenberg also gave a speech at the University of Copenhagen on the importance of keeping NATO strong in the wake of the changed security environment and the challenges the Alliance faces from the east and the south. Endit