NATO Defense Ministers Meet Under High Tension Over Russia

NATO defence ministers will meet on Wednesday to discuss the heated conflict with Russia. It’s “all hands on deck” and “taking all scenarios into account”, insiders say. NATO cannot meet Russia’s demands, but there is still room for negotiation, estimates a high-ranking source in the alliance.

While meetings of NATO ministers are usually extensively pre-cooked and take place out of the spotlight, this edition is under high tension due to the tension on the eastern borders. Even seasoned NATO ambassadors do not know what will happen during the two-day summit of Minister Kajsa Ollongren and her colleagues. However, recent Russian pleas for diplomacy and images of the Kremlin withdrawing tanks are cautiously optimistic. Everyone wants to see before believing.

In any case, the threatening Russian manoeuvres of recent weeks have prompted the Western military alliance to strengthen its southeastern flank. Should Russia overrun Ukraine, the Russian army will suddenly be on the doorstep of Romania and Bulgaria. That is why NATO wants to deploy troops there in the Baltic countries and Poland that already borders Russia.

But the alliance remains hopeful that Moscow will be satisfied with the outreach that has already been made on things such as mutual openness and arms control. Those proposals have not yet been fully worked out and can therefore be deepened and broadened to suit Russia more, NATO chief Stoltenberg hinted earlier.

More important seems to be the search for a possible gesture to Russia about the fate of the two Eastern Ukrainian republics in the hands of Russian-minded rebels. The Kremlin has been pushing for this for some time. At the same time, a pro-Russian piece of Ukraine where Russia has a foothold or even troops on the ground can, in practice, act as an assurance that the country will not join NATO for the time being. According to a senior NATO source, NATO countries are looking forward to the report of German Chancellor Scholz’s visit to Kiev and Moscow. He probably discussed that matter.