NATO defense ministers will begin reshaping the alliance’s policy regarding relations with Russia next week, in response to threats posed by the Kremlin.
According to Politico, this development comes as NATO-Russia relations have reached their lowest point since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Moscow in 2022. The alliance has designated Moscow as “the most significant and direct threat to the security of allies,” while the Kremlin insists that NATO’s eastward expansion represents an existential risk. Nevertheless, despite the change in tone, NATO continues to uphold the “Founding Act” with Russia.
This refers to a document signed in 1997, six years after the fall of the Soviet Union, which aimed to “build a stable, peaceful, and undivided Europe.” “It is time to draft a new strategy regarding the specific positions of allies,” a quoted official told Politico, explaining that changes are necessary because the Founding Act and the NATO-Russia Council were created for a different era, and now “something new is needed.”
Meanwhile, Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised Ukraine additional military assistance from Western partners, amounting to €1.4 billion. This aid will include air defense systems, artillery, and drones, Scholz stated during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin, where he also condemned Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure, which are aimed at breaking the people’s will to resist.
