NATO countries split because of Russia

Leaders of member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are discussing whether to let Russia guess or publicly limit it will cause NATO to intervene in the situation in Ukraine.

However, it is all understood that any inappropriate response could lead to a direct conflict between NATO and Russia, drawing the whole world into a new war.

“We decide heart We do all we can to support Ukraine, but it is our responsibility to ensure that the war does not escalate into a conflict between NATO and Russia.,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Should Russia’s plans be kept secret?

Some NATO policymakers in Europe worry that the alliance has made too many public statements about its intentions: Not to send troops and fighter jets to Ukraine. They argue that any military intentions to deter Russia should not be ruled out.

Those who disagree with the US response have similar opinions. Accordingly, the fact that Washington openly does not support Kiev in a number of issues will make Russia not shy and step up actions in Ukraine.

According to the chairman of the Estonian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Marko Mihkelson, statements such as “we don’t want World War 3” or “we don’t want conflict with Russia” will make Moscow think that the US and NATO are fighting. shy away from Russia.

FranCois Heisbourg, senior adviser for Europe at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, is of the opinion that the administration of President Joe Biden should remain silent on issues related to troop deployment. According to him, this will make Russia uncertain and have to watch out for bad scenarios.

US Republican Senator Mitt Romney made similar comments:Instead of announcing exactly what we’re going to do, leaving the Russians wondering what we’re going to do“.

At NATO, many European diplomats also raised concerns about the US publicizing too much information. One of the diplomats said:They think we should stop publicizing what NATO won’t do“.

But aside from President Biden, there are other NATO leaders who have decided to clarify the limits with Russia.

On March 23, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated: “We will not give in to the no-fly zone demands and NATO will not enter the war“.

Meanwhile, supporters of Washington’s policy praise the economic sanctions against Russia, noting that the US is moving to transfer defensive weapons to Ukraine.

“President Biden has a responsibility to articulate his goal of ending the conflict. To that end, we will not take actions that could escalate hostilities, which would endanger many lives and lead to a larger-scale skirmish. This is a responsible approach whose priority is to end conflicts as soon as possible,” the Washington Post quoted a senior official in the Biden administration.

“America is tired of conflicts. We understand the feeling of losing thousands of soldiers. So President Biden needs to be clear about what he will and won’t do“, said Chris Murphy, Democratic Senator from Connecticut.

NATO’s deterrent measures against Russia appear to be working. So far, Russia has not taken action against logistics centers on NATO territory that are providing military aid to Ukraine. No NATO member state has yet suffered a large-scale cyber attack either – alliance leaders fear that the attack could trigger NATO’s collective defense treaties, but did not elaborate. on this issue.

However, those who disagree, say that President Biden left an option open to Moscow as early as December – when Russia began deploying troops near the border with Ukraine. At the time, Mr. Biden stated that the US had no intention of “unilaterally confronting Russia with force if it attacked Ukraine militarily”.

In the ensuing development, Washington rejected a Polish proposal to transfer MiG fighters to the Ukrainian army. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the United States was concerned that Russia would view this as an escalation.

In addition, some Eastern European officials are also concerned that NATO is facing difficulties in adding troops and military equipment to the vulnerable nations of the alliance.

Top Russian officials have admitted that the Kremlin must have been taken aback by the Western backlash.

“No one expected that the West could impose these sanctions,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The debate on how to put pressure on Russia, while avoiding escalation, will continue in the next NATO meetings. Along with that, Eastern European countries bordering Russia – including Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – have asked the alliance for additional troops and advanced air defense equipment to demonstrate that warnings of NATO can come with military might.

In the immediate future, North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders are expected to deploy additional troops to Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia – NATO countries located around Ukraine, the Black Sea and close to the surrounding area. sudden.