Poland and Ukraine had high expectations of America ahead of the meeting between American President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

In view of Washington's new stance towards the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which was perceived as “too soft”, and based on the assumption that Biden, like Barack Obama once did, could seek a “reset” (restart) of relations with Moscow, criticism was also loud.

Gerhard Gnauck

Political correspondent for Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania based in Warsaw.

  • Follow I follow

    Poland's Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau told the Rzeczpospolita newspaper on Friday that he had heard of the new American stance on Nord Stream 2 “from the media”.

    “Our American allies have not found time to consult the region most affected by this.” Instead, there is an “American-Russian-German dialogue” behind closed doors over the pipeline, which will be “an imminent threat to peace in Europe ".

    It will lead to an escalation of Russia's aggressive foreign policy.

    "You cannot solve a crisis by not answering the phone," said Rau.

    Unfortunately, so far Russia's neighbors have been right in their assessment of Russia's politics, "but the Americans, Germans and French have often been mistaken."

    Biden made a "cascade of mistakes"

    At the same time, since President Bill Clinton, the view has developed in America that the main partner in “building a free world” in Europe is no longer Great Britain but Germany, Rau criticized and said: “Biden equates Europe with Germany.” Before Biden's encounters in Europe the American president made "a cascade of mistakes" and never sought talks with Poland or Ukraine.

    In spite of openly expressed expectations, Ukraine was not invited as a guest to the NATO summit on Monday, unlike in 2016.

    The phone call with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj last week, in which Biden invited him to Washington as the first European politician, was only "saving face".

    Poland is "an important and loyal ally of America" ​​and a democracy that also has the "ability to regulate itself," said Rau, alluding to foreign criticism of deficits in the Polish constitutional state.

    At the same time, Poland had its experiences with Russia.

    There, "the expansion of the territory from Ivan Kalita (Prince of Moscow, 1288-1341) to Vladimir Putin is the criterion for political success".

    Apparently planned at short notice, Biden and the Polish President Andrzej Duda had a short talk at the NATO summit on Monday;

    The Warsaw media claim that Minister Rau's criticism contributed to this.

    Biden had more time, namely 45 minutes, for a joint meeting with the heads of state and government of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

    America "most important factor in deterring Russia"

    The American President assured Washington's support in view of the "challenges" posed by Russia and China.

    Afterwards, Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda admitted that "Biden will present his Russian counterpart with a clear message regarding the unity and cohesion of NATO in response to aggressive actions by Russia".

    The US is "the most important factor in deterring Russia" in the region and its stronger military presence is desirable.

    So far, only the European NATO allies and Canada have stationed soldiers in the Baltic states.

    Ukraine, meanwhile, is concerned that the United States may weaken its support for the country against Russia in a reassessment of its priorities with regard to China. Nord Stream 2 is still an issue in Kiev. A possible diversion of the transit of Russian natural gas from Ukraine to Nord Stream 2 would result in "considerable additional expenditure" for Kiev, because then only natural gas would have to be fed into the pipeline from the west, said the Ukrainian diplomat Olena Serkal.

    Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Die Welt that the gas pipeline should "be used as a lever to move Russia to a more constructive role in the peace process in eastern Ukraine." America itself must show a “more active commitment” on the Eastern Ukraine question, even if “not necessarily” as part of the Normandy format (Ukraine, Russia, France, Germany). Last week, Washington specified what it intends to use $ 150 million in military aid released by Congress for: to strengthen Ukraine in communications and reconnaissance, as well as drone defense and other “defensive armaments”.