Bloomberg: Eastern NATO Members “Furious” Over Biden’s Idea of a Format for Dialogue With Putin

NATO allies are concerned about what concessions may be raised at such talks.

Eastern NATO members have reacted very critically to the idea of US President Joe Biden to discuss with Russia its claims about NATO's expansion, in particular the admission of Ukraine, with the participation of only part of the Alliance, the “key countries.” This is reported by Bloomberg citing sources in diplomatic circles who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. 

One of the publication's interlocutors said that one of the countries is “furious” and wants immediate explanations about what exactly Joe Biden is planning. 

A second diplomat said that allies on the eastern flank (who remember their experience from the Soviet era well) are concerned about what concessions may be raised at such talks, in the context of “political guarantees” and restrictions on NATO's activities, in order to placate Putin. 

The diplomat said that Biden's proposal alarmed all countries on the Alliance's eastern flank, but most of all Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Poland and Romania. 

Recall that the White House claims that Biden made no concessions or commitments in his conversation with Putin in response to his demand not to admit Ukraine and other Russian neighbors into NATO. However, the US president agreed to negotiate with Russia on how to ease its concerns about Ukraine's possible accession to the Alliance. 

Subsequently, US President Joe Biden said that he plans to organize talks involving “at least four” key NATO allies and Russia. 

Speaking to journalists, Biden said that in his conversation with Putin he was very straightforward and made it clear that the invasion of Ukraine would have serious consequences, in particular economic consequences of “unprecedented scale.” 

“In addition, I clearly said that we will also provide the Ukrainians with the means to strengthen their defense capability,” the US president said. He expressed confidence that Putin heard the signals they wanted to convey to him. 

Joe Biden
President of the United States

The good news is that our teams are in constant contact. We hope that by Friday we can say and announce that there will be high-level meetings, not only with our participation but also with at least four of our largest NATO allies and Russia, to discuss Russia's concerns about NATO and whether or not to work out any solutions to reduce tensions on the eastern flank. 

At the same time, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that Russia must not be given the right to decide who may become a NATO member, and also noted that issues related to European security must be resolved with the participation of all allies. 

Kaja Kallas
Prime Minister of Estonia

First, Russia must never be given a voice on who can or cannot be a NATO member. Second, Russia must not be given any voice on how NATO should defend its territory. And third, Europe and our security issues must be discussed with the participation of all allies. 

She said she wants to discuss the government's position with President Alar Karis and colleagues from the Baltic countries. 

“We all know what Russia's plan is. Its plan is to force Ukraine to change its decisions under pressure of threats and military force, and to force NATO to choose certain paths. And what worries most is that Russia wants to divide Europe into “spheres of influence.” There is no naivety on these issues. This is unacceptable, it is morally wrong, and Russia needs to say this clearly,” the prime minister said. 

Marko Mihkelson, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Estonian parliament, said that Biden's proposal was a “puzzling surprise” and called for diplomatic efforts to block such a meeting or at least to secure the participation of eastern flank countries in the talks. 

He noted that any negotiations with Putin should concern exclusively how to ensure Ukraine's territorial integrity and eliminate the military threat from Russia. 

The Estonian parliamentarian believes that giving Russia a “veto right” on matters of the architecture of the European security system is completely wrong and will only lead to new aggression. 

The Polish prime minister, commenting on the Putin and Biden conversation, said that the Russian president is taking advantage of difficult times for NATO: “I think that after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the situation in the Alliance is tense and complicated, and, unfortunately, rivals, and Russia is one of them, are trying to use this to their advantage.” 

A NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that dialogue with Russia, alongside deterrence, is part of the Alliance's strategy, but that decisions on the future membership of any country must be made only by the 30 NATO allies.