“The harsher the sanctions the more we can help the Ukrainians and the shorter this crisis will last.” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this when arriving at the NATO summit: «Vladimir Putin is behaving in a barbaric way and NATO must collectively consider the horrendous crisis that is developing in Ukraine. Now we have to decide what we can do to tighten the economic noose around the Putin regime: it has already crossed the red line ».
Meanwhile, at the extraordinary NATO summit in Brussels, the leaders of the member countries are arriving in dribs and drabs. American President Joe Biden landed from Washington and was welcomed by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Mario Draghi also arrived shortly after.
The day will be somehow crucial for the continuation of the war in Ukraine: first the meeting of the heads of state and government of NATO members is scheduled, then the G7, and finally the European Council in which Biden will participate in the mid-afternoon. At the moment, no decisions are expected on a new package of sanctions against Russia, although US pressure on one side and the EU’s eastern front on the other (Poland and the Baltic countries) to involve oil imports are strong.
«Putin – said the president of Slovakia, Zuzana Caputova – must understand that Russian borders are established by international law. I am very happy with the deployment of a new NATO battalion in my country, it is a support for security and defense ».
In any case, an extension of the list of sanctioned persons (individuals and companies) is being prepared, as well as further restrictions on trade and transport. The Russian announcement to accept payments in rubles and not dollars (to ward off the blow of devaluation and sow discord among buyers, ed) or euros will require a timely response. «Nobody – said the Prime Minister of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauséda – can feel safe today. Maybe it will be Poland. Maybe it will be the Baltic states, but none in Europe, even those countries that are far from the direct border with Russia are safe today. This is a challenge. This is a challenge for the whole vision of the democratic principles of the world and we cannot lose it ».
It is not clear if it will actually be a “red line”, but the message summarized by NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg, before the meeting in Brussels, was clear enough: “The use of chemical weapons would imply a change in the nature of the conflict , a clear violation of international law, would have widespread and serious effects entailing the risk of contamination in a wider area ».
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Jansa, who in recent days had been in Kiev also arrived in Brussels “to show support for Ukraine, which needs four things: hope, modern weapons, humanitarian aid and money to survive while the economy is stalled “.
On the diplomatic front, the Ukrainian ambassador to Italy, Yaroslav Melnyk, in a hearing in the House explained that it is necessary “to find another way to guarantee our security that is not entry into NATO but we cannot take Austria as a model. or Sweden. We are studying another solution ». Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a bilateral meeting with the French head of state Emmanuel Macron.