NATO is keeping a moderate attitude towards Russia thanks to the USA, despite calls from several countries to be more strict, writes Lithuanian media LRT.
The main reason for recent disagreements is communication between Admiral Rob Bauer, NATO’s chair of the Military Committee, and Russian General Valery Gerasimov. At the beginning of the war, the United States and Russia created a conflict resolution unit at the military-political level to avoid wider military activity in the world. Some NATO members raised the question of whether such talks are necessary.
The anonymous source in NATO stated that, in general, the countries of Eastern Europe, the Scandinavian countries, and the countries of former Yugoslavia want to have «zero tolerance» towards Russia, while the countries of Western Europe and the Mediterranean region support moderate actions. Washington’s leading role is seen as allowing moderation to be maintained for now, while Great Britain is increasingly leaning towards a tougher approach. Germany in NATO has been almost invisible for the last two years – it pays, gives, and remains silent.
Regarding recent communications, Bauer and Gerasimov mutually agreed that all parties involved will be careful, especially when it comes to ships moving in the Black Sea, to avoid incidents.
Ian Lesser, vice president of the German Marshall Fund, commented that there is no reason to think about the instability of the alliance. He said, that it is «a natural difference of opinion from countries that are in close proximity to Russia and invest in the prevention of security challenges.» These differences won’t affect the help for Ukraine.
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