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| Europe divided over Russia as NATO meets on Ukraine crisis | Europe divided over Russia as NATO meets on Ukraine crisis |
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| BERLIN — NATO members in emergency talks pledged “solidarity” in the Ukrainian crisis on Tuesday, but there are signs of division in the West over how to respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin. | |
| Among the biggest obstacles to consensus: a Europe where old Cold War fears are running up against the economic clout of the new Russia. | Among the biggest obstacles to consensus: a Europe where old Cold War fears are running up against the economic clout of the new Russia. |
| In the former Eastern bloc, political leaders and the populace are seeing the ghost of the Cold War. A nervous Poland, where Lech Walesa stared down the Soviet Union in the 1980s, called Tuesday’s snap meeting of NATO members by invoking a rarely used lever activated by members who believe their security or territorial integrity is under threat. Like the United States, Poland is seeking a relatively more aggressive stance against Putin, calling for diplomacy but also preparation for economic sanctions and other punitive steps. | In the former Eastern bloc, political leaders and the populace are seeing the ghost of the Cold War. A nervous Poland, where Lech Walesa stared down the Soviet Union in the 1980s, called Tuesday’s snap meeting of NATO members by invoking a rarely used lever activated by members who believe their security or territorial integrity is under threat. Like the United States, Poland is seeking a relatively more aggressive stance against Putin, calling for diplomacy but also preparation for economic sanctions and other punitive steps. |
| And yet, other powers in Europe — including Britain and Germany — have offered harsh condemnations of the Russian intervention in the Crimea region of Ukraine, while keeping one eye on the economic interests they have cultivated with Moscow since the fall of the Soviet Union. | And yet, other powers in Europe — including Britain and Germany — have offered harsh condemnations of the Russian intervention in the Crimea region of Ukraine, while keeping one eye on the economic interests they have cultivated with Moscow since the fall of the Soviet Union. |
| Russia is Germany’s fourth-largest trading partner outside the European Union and its single-largest supplier of energy. Among the French companies with vast investments in Russia is Renault SA, which is partly owned by the French government. Through a partnership with Nissan Motor Co., Renault is set to boost its ownership in Russia’s largest automaker to nearly 75 percent later this year. | Russia is Germany’s fourth-largest trading partner outside the European Union and its single-largest supplier of energy. Among the French companies with vast investments in Russia is Renault SA, which is partly owned by the French government. Through a partnership with Nissan Motor Co., Renault is set to boost its ownership in Russia’s largest automaker to nearly 75 percent later this year. |
| Among Russian oligarchs, meanwhile, London is now affectionately known as “Moscow on the Thames.” Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, a close Putin ally, owns the Chelsea soccer club. In “the City” — London’s financial district, which drives a substantial portion of the British economy — Russian money is courted as king, with ice-cold vodka and caviar a staple on elegant restaurant menus. | Among Russian oligarchs, meanwhile, London is now affectionately known as “Moscow on the Thames.” Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, a close Putin ally, owns the Chelsea soccer club. In “the City” — London’s financial district, which drives a substantial portion of the British economy — Russian money is courted as king, with ice-cold vodka and caviar a staple on elegant restaurant menus. |
| Given that Europe’s economic relationship with Russia is multiple times that of the United States, securing the region’s cooperation will be paramount to any effort by Washington to secure significant sanctions. Yet such ties will not be lightly jeopardized, observers say, even in the defense of a fellow European nation under threat. | Given that Europe’s economic relationship with Russia is multiple times that of the United States, securing the region’s cooperation will be paramount to any effort by Washington to secure significant sanctions. Yet such ties will not be lightly jeopardized, observers say, even in the defense of a fellow European nation under threat. |
| A briefing paper caught on camera as a British official walked into No. 10 Downing Street, for instance, suggested that London is wary of cutting off the Russians who splash their billions around the capital. The document indicated that the British government is advocating rigorous diplomacy over sanctions. | A briefing paper caught on camera as a British official walked into No. 10 Downing Street, for instance, suggested that London is wary of cutting off the Russians who splash their billions around the capital. The document indicated that the British government is advocating rigorous diplomacy over sanctions. |
| “The European position is a mess,” said Kadri Liik, a senior policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations. “I think it’s quite chaotic and hit and miss, and there’s no unanimity as to what to do.” | “The European position is a mess,” said Kadri Liik, a senior policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations. “I think it’s quite chaotic and hit and miss, and there’s no unanimity as to what to do.” |
| In Brussels, the NATO meeting broke up with a brief statement assuring that “[a]llies stand together in the spirit of strong solidarity” and promising to “support all constructive efforts for a peaceful solution to the current crisis.” | In Brussels, the NATO meeting broke up with a brief statement assuring that “[a]llies stand together in the spirit of strong solidarity” and promising to “support all constructive efforts for a peaceful solution to the current crisis.” |
| On Monday, European foreign ministers appeared to rally behind a limited plan of action, including ending preparations for a G-8 meeting in Sochi, the Russian city where the Olympics were recently held, and potentially suspending talks on easing visa requirements for Russians. The Russians were set to meet with NATO officials in Brussels on Wednesday. | On Monday, European foreign ministers appeared to rally behind a limited plan of action, including ending preparations for a G-8 meeting in Sochi, the Russian city where the Olympics were recently held, and potentially suspending talks on easing visa requirements for Russians. The Russians were set to meet with NATO officials in Brussels on Wednesday. |
| But as European leaders prepared to convene Thursday to solidify a plan, it was also clear that divisions on how and whether to impose sanctions remained. Following Tuesday’s meeting, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski — whose country led the effort to bring Kiev closer to the E.U. — told reporters that “the rest of the Europe is sometimes half a phase behind us.” | But as European leaders prepared to convene Thursday to solidify a plan, it was also clear that divisions on how and whether to impose sanctions remained. Following Tuesday’s meeting, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski — whose country led the effort to bring Kiev closer to the E.U. — told reporters that “the rest of the Europe is sometimes half a phase behind us.” |
| Virtually no one in official E.U. circles, be they east or west, is calling for NATO boots on Ukrainian soil. But east of Berlin, there is no doubting the larger sense of alarm over a newly belligerent Russia. | Virtually no one in official E.U. circles, be they east or west, is calling for NATO boots on Ukrainian soil. But east of Berlin, there is no doubting the larger sense of alarm over a newly belligerent Russia. |
| Since the end of the Cold War, three nations that were formerly part of the Soviet Union — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — have joined NATO, as have the nations of the Warsaw Pact. Particularly among those countries, and far more than during Russia’s incursion into Georgia in 2008, the Crimean intervention is stoking terrifying memories that were always just below the surface. | Since the end of the Cold War, three nations that were formerly part of the Soviet Union — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — have joined NATO, as have the nations of the Warsaw Pact. Particularly among those countries, and far more than during Russia’s incursion into Georgia in 2008, the Crimean intervention is stoking terrifying memories that were always just below the surface. |
| “For these countries, their worst fears are materializing,” said Igor Sutyagin, a fellow at RUSI, a London-based military think tank. “They have been saying for years that Russia is unpredictable, that anything might happen. And now it has.” | “For these countries, their worst fears are materializing,” said Igor Sutyagin, a fellow at RUSI, a London-based military think tank. “They have been saying for years that Russia is unpredictable, that anything might happen. And now it has.” |
| On Tuesday, the Estonian newspaper Ohtuleht ran an editorial worrying about the economic links between Russia and Western European economies dependent on its gas supplies. “What government would dare to suggest to its voters to spend the next winter in a cold apartment just because of a peninsula nobody can point out on the map?” the editorial said. But it warned that “every bit of compliancy will only increase the appetite of the aggressor,” adding that “for us Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians, this is particularly painful.” | On Tuesday, the Estonian newspaper Ohtuleht ran an editorial worrying about the economic links between Russia and Western European economies dependent on its gas supplies. “What government would dare to suggest to its voters to spend the next winter in a cold apartment just because of a peninsula nobody can point out on the map?” the editorial said. But it warned that “every bit of compliancy will only increase the appetite of the aggressor,” adding that “for us Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians, this is particularly painful.” |
| In Prague, where Soviet tanks rolled in after a West-leaning government came to power in 1968, the Ukranian crisis has stirred deep-seated fears. The Czech daily Lidove Noviny compared Putin with Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet leader at the time. | In Prague, where Soviet tanks rolled in after a West-leaning government came to power in 1968, the Ukranian crisis has stirred deep-seated fears. The Czech daily Lidove Noviny compared Putin with Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet leader at the time. |
| “The decisive factor for Putin isn’t whether the Russian minority in Ukraine really is under threat,” the paper said in an editorial. “He wants to demonstrate that Russia calls the shots and that the sovereignty of other nations on its border is no more than a scrap of paper.” | “The decisive factor for Putin isn’t whether the Russian minority in Ukraine really is under threat,” the paper said in an editorial. “He wants to demonstrate that Russia calls the shots and that the sovereignty of other nations on its border is no more than a scrap of paper.” |
| In debate now are the tools to be used to pressure Russia diplomatically. Andrejs Pildegovics, Latvia’s state secretary for foreign affairs, said his nation is trying to build a consensus that presses for a diplomatic solution while also keeping “sanctions on the table.” | In debate now are the tools to be used to pressure Russia diplomatically. Andrejs Pildegovics, Latvia’s state secretary for foreign affairs, said his nation is trying to build a consensus that presses for a diplomatic solution while also keeping “sanctions on the table.” |
| “Ukraine is not a member of NATO, it is not under the nuclear umbrella, and there are no obligations to protect it,” he said. “But it is part of Europe, and we can’t forget that.” | “Ukraine is not a member of NATO, it is not under the nuclear umbrella, and there are no obligations to protect it,” he said. “But it is part of Europe, and we can’t forget that.” |
| Yet it was also clear that major powers in Western Europe were seriously alarmed and might be compelled to take bolder action. | Yet it was also clear that major powers in Western Europe were seriously alarmed and might be compelled to take bolder action. |
| British Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking to Parliament on Tuesday, said the photographed documents “should not be taken as a guide” to the government’s response, adding, “Our options remain open.” | British Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking to Parliament on Tuesday, said the photographed documents “should not be taken as a guide” to the government’s response, adding, “Our options remain open.” |
| German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, meanwhile, was pressing for international mediation between Ukraine and Russia. But he added: “If we don’t agree on decisive steps towards an international agreement . . . then I expect the discussion [among European leaders on Thursday] will proceed in a way that measures will indeed be decided upon.” | German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, meanwhile, was pressing for international mediation between Ukraine and Russia. But he added: “If we don’t agree on decisive steps towards an international agreement . . . then I expect the discussion [among European leaders on Thursday] will proceed in a way that measures will indeed be decided upon.” |
| Karla Adam in London and Stephanie Kirchner in Berlin contributed tothis report. | Karla Adam in London and Stephanie Kirchner in Berlin contributed tothis report. |