Joe Biden’s announcement that some NATO countries will hold talks with Moscow has aroused concerns about the east wing of the alliance. Members close to Russia have long insisted that any agreement on European security should not be negotiated on their heads. .
The official is Poland Biden’s description of seeking “harmony” with Russia and other eastern and central NATO countries are privately angry, worrying that any trade-off will increase the danger they face from expansionist Russia.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Karas stated in a public speech on Thursday that Russia must not have any say in the issue of how NATO organizes and defends its territory or who can join a military alliance. “The most worrying thing is that Russia wants to turn Europe into a sphere of influence. This is unacceptable and morally untenable, and Russia must be made aware of this.”
East Then Before Biden reveals more details about the talks on Friday, members are expected to ask for a seat at the negotiating table.
“We have said many times that we have to participate in anything discussed in our region; nothing should be discussed without us,” said Linas Linkevičius, the former foreign minister and defense minister. Lithuania.
“Russia’s intentions are well known. They are always trying to divide, divide, and marginalize, so this is nothing new… We must maintain unity and principled decisions, especially when we are likely to invade it. Ukraine. “
Like others, Linkvicius pointed out that currently there is very little public information about the talks and said many officials may be waiting for more information from the Biden administration before talking about them publicly.
A diplomat from the Baltic states said that people are worried that the talks will be announced as Russia Maintaining the military buildup on the Ukrainian border “looks like Putin got what he wanted.”
A senior official from a Northeast Treaty country also Tell the financial times Any talk of compromising with Moscow “must be immediately and fundamentally cut off.” Russia has stated that it looks forward to “discussing the strategic security of the continent.”
Biden is expected to talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and members of “Bucharest 9” (Bucharest 9), the eastern wing of the military alliance after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Group of countries.
This will be Biden’s first direct dialogue with the organization since the meeting. There was a two-hour video call with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. During the virtual summit, he warned the Russian president that he might be sanctioned if he launches an offensive in Ukraine.
After that call, he immediately spoke with Boris Johnson, Angela Merkel in Germany, Emmanuel Macron in France and Mario Draghi in Italy. Biden has stated that the talks with Russia will include “at least four of our main NATO allies and Russia to discuss future concerns related to Russia and NATO.”
Mikhail Baranovsky, director of the Warsaw Office of the German Marshall Foundation, said that Biden’s strong reaction to Russia’s military build-up in Ukraine has been supported by Poland, including threats to impose sanctions on Russia, and made it public. Support the sovereignty of Ukraine.
He said that the decision to announce the new Russia talks caused “chaos” and “some anger” in Poland because it marked a shift in the direction of the White House’s thinking.
He said it would be “harmful” if Poland, Romania and other east-wing countries were excluded from the talks.
“The reaction will be very negative. It will send a clear signal to Russia. Look: If you need to talk about European security, don’t worry about what those nasty Central Europeans are thinking. You only need to be powerful,” he said.
He said that any movement that restricts who can join NATO will recognize Russia’s sphere of influence, which puts Poland and other east-wing countries at greater risk.
“Even if there is no result, even if they just sit down and listen to the dissatisfaction of the Russians, let alone, God bless, there will be any form of agreement, then people will talk about Munich and Yalta,” he said, referring to the past with Nazi Germany And Soviet settlements.
Linkvicius also said that Biden’s “transparency” in responding to the assembly of Russia has been well evaluated in Lithuania, and it is important to maintain the unity between Europe and NATO.
Russia’s Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov claimed in a briefing on Thursday that NATO has increased its activities along the Russian border. He also stated that “the accusations that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine in the media are lies.”
At the same time, Russia is still preparing to intervene in Ukraine’s Donbass region. Gerasimov said: “Any provocative actions by the Ukrainian authorities that attempt to resolve the Donbass issue by force will be curbed.”
