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In Poland, Biden Promises Allies Protection In Poland, Biden Promises Allies Protection
(about 7 hours later)
WARSAW — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., declaring that “it’s more important today than ever that friends stand with one another,” promised Poland and the Baltic states on Tuesday that the United States would protect them from any Russian aggression similar to what has taken place in Crimea. WARSAW — Citing the need for friends to “stand with one another,” Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. reassured Poland and the Baltic states on Tuesday that the United States would protect them from any Russian aggression like the actions the Kremlin has taken in Crimea.
In the first of two days of meetings with the leaders of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Mr. Biden offered strong words and modest military and economic aid to shore up the NATO alliance and build solidarity in the face of the deepening crisis in Ukraine. In the first of two days of hastily arranged meetings with the leaders of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Mr. Biden mixed bracing words with promises of modest military aid to shore up the NATO alliance and build solidarity in the face of the deepening crisis over Ukraine.
His first session, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland, occurred at the same time that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was making his case for annexing Crimea before the Duma. Mr. Biden and Mr. Tusk emerged, grim-faced, to speak to a phalanx of reporters. His first session, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland, occurred at the same time that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was laying out his case for annexing Crimea before his country’s parliament, the Duma. Mr. Biden and Mr. Tusk emerged grim-faced to speak to reporters afterward.
“We join Poland and the international community in condemning the continuing assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Mr. Biden said as Mr. Tusk nodded. “Russia has offered a variety of arguments to justify what is nothing more than a land grab,” the vice president said, “but the world has rejected those arguments.” He said that Russia stands alone, “naked before the world,” in its aggression.
“Russia has offered a variety of arguments to justify what is nothing more than a land grab,” the vice president continued. Mr. Tusk was even more impassioned, saying that Mr. Biden’s visit came at a fateful moment when the geopolitical landscape of post-World War II Europe was being rearranged as never before. “Before our eyes,” he said, “the history of our region is changing.”
“But the world has rejected those arguments,” he said, and Russia stands alone, “naked before the world” in its aggression. In such turbulent times, Mr. Tusk said, the alliance between NATO’s European members and the United States could act as a brake on Moscow. “Only Euro-Atlantic solidarity will allow us to prepare sufficient and strong reactions to Russia’s aggression,” he said.
Mr. Tusk was even more impassioned. With Russia’s move to annex Crimea, he said, “before our eyes, the history of this region is changing.” Mr. Biden’s trip is meant to send a conspicuous message to Moscow, reinforcing the limited sanctions that the United States and the European Union announced on Monday against Russian officials and their allies over the parts they played in events in Crimea.
It “changes overnight the borders of states,” he added. “It changes the geopolitical situation in this part of the world.” But the military aid Mr. Biden promised was mostly familiar: an additional 12 F-16 fighter jets for Poland and 10 more American F-15’s, instead of a planned four, assigned to a NATO operation that polices the skies over the Baltic states. He also spoke of rotating more American ground and naval forces through the Baltics for training exercises.
In such turbulent circumstances, Mr. Tusk said, the alliance between NATO members and the United States looms all the larger. “Only Euro-Atlantic solidarity will allow us to prepare sufficient and strong reactions to Russia’s aggression,” he said. The Baltic states cannot take the heightened air patrols for granted. The American aircraft will rotate back out of the region in a few weeks, to be replaced by Polish aircraft. A senior administration official said the goal was to keep the number of fighter jets on hand in the area constant.
Mr. Biden’s trip is designed to send a visible message to Russia, reinforcing the sanctions the United States and the European Union announced Monday against Russian officials and their allies for their role in the referendum in the breakaway peninsula of Crimea. The vice president announced no changes to the American missile defense system being built in Poland and Romania. He said the project was on track and would be operational by 2018.
But it also comes at a time of deep uneasiness in Eastern Europe about the reliability of the United States as a guarantor of its security. President Obama’s so-called pivot to Asia was viewed by many here as a turning-away from Europe, while NATO has seemed to be groping for new purpose in the long twilight of the war in Afghanistan. Mr. Biden’s visit comes at a time of deep unease in Eastern Europe about the reliability of the United States as a guarantor of its security. President Obama’s announced shift of military and diplomatic emphasis toward Asia was viewed by many here as a turning away from Europe, while NATO has seemed to be groping for new purpose in the long twilight of the war in Afghanistan.
Poland and the Baltics are less vulnerable than Ukraine because their NATO membership guarantees they will be defended if they come under attack, but their history as Soviet satellites has left deep anxieties that have been revived by the Russian incursion into Ukraine. Poland and the three Baltic states are seen as less vulnerable to Russian pressure than Ukraine is, because their NATO membership guarantees that they will be defended if they come under attack. But their history as former Soviet satellites left deep anxieties that were revived by the Russian incursion into Ukraine.
In Poland, Ukraine has become a volatile political issue, with the opposition sounding alarms that this country could be next for Russia and criticizing Mr. Tusk’s government, which had cultivated constructive relations with Moscow. In Poland, Ukraine has become a volatile political issue. The opposition has sounded alarms that the country could be Russia’s next target, and has criticized Mr. Tusk’s government, which had cultivated constructive relations with Moscow.
To calm the waters, the vice president announced increased technical assistance to help modernize the Polish armed forces and additional joint military training. The United States has already sent an additional 12 F-16 fighter jets to an aviation detachment in Poland, as well as 10 more F-15’s to a NATO operation that polices the skies over the Baltic States. The president of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski, said Russia’s aggression should come as no surprise, given that Russia had quadrupled its military budget over the last eight years while some European countries were cutting theirs.
But Mr. Biden announced no changes to the American missile defense system in Poland and Romania as a result of the crisis. He said it was on track and would be operational by 2018. In his response, Mr. Biden said, “You have an ally whose budget is larger than the next 10 nations in the world combined, so don’t worry about where we are.”
The vice president also discussed energy security with the Europeans, many of whom rely on Russia for more than a third of their natural gas imports. He urged them to diversify their energy sources by investing in shale and nuclear technology, making them less vulnerable to Russia using its gas shipments as a political weapon. Mr. Komorowski said he had reminded Mr. Biden of Poland’s success in resisting Soviet aggression in the 1980s. At that time, he said, the Soviets were weakened by wild swings in the price of oil and gas, as well as the ruinously expensive arms race.
Lawmakers have called on the Obama administration to speed up permits that would allow the United States to accelerate shipments of liquefied natural gas to Europe. But converting the gas for shipment is expensive, and to date, the administration has issued only six permits for the construction of export terminals for liquefied natural gas. The vice president raised energy security with the Europeans, many of whom rely on Russia for much of their natural gas. He urged them to diversify their energy sources by investing in shale gas and nuclear technology, making the countries less vulnerable to Russia using its gas shipments as a political weapon.
The vice president has played a substantial role throughout the Ukraine crisis, initially in talking to the country’s ousted president, Viktor F. Yanukovych, and more recently in meeting with other neighbors threatened by Russia: Georgia and Moldova. Mr. Obama has also stepped up his engagement, speaking recently to Prime Minister Tusk. American lawmakers have called on the Obama administration to speed up permits that would allow shipments of more American liquefied natural gas to Europe. But to date, the administration has issued only six permits for the construction of export terminals.
He interrupted a recent golf weekend in Florida to hold a conference call with the three Baltic leaders: President Andris Berzins of Latvia, President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania, and President Toomas Hendrick Ilves of Estonia. He told them the United States had an “unwavering commitment” to their defense, according to the White House. Mr. Biden did not raise gas exports to Europe in his public remarks, and a senior official traveling with him said there were various legal and regulatory hurdles to starting a major trade in gas.
In Warsaw, in addition to Mr. Tusk, Mr. Biden will meet President Bronislaw Komorowski and Mr. Ilves, who happens to be on a state visit to Poland. In the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on Wednesday, he will meet Ms. Grybauskaite and Mr. Berzins. At least one president — Toomas Hendrik Ilves of Estonia — zeroed in on Europe’s fossil-fuel dependency as a cause for what he said was a weak European response to Russia’s incursion in Crimea.
————————————————————- “The response should not be about the price of gas,” Mr. Ilves said after his meeting with Mr. Biden. “It should be about common values, and the price of not adhering to those values.”