NATO´s new position needs to be taken seriously

NATO´s foreign ministers met today on Ukraine, Russia and the security along the Eastern borders of the Alliance. The decisions taken need to be taken with great attention. They combine a mixture of political measures with military preparedness and operations. They represent, in many ways, a turning point, after trying for two decades to build a constructive partnership with Russia.

We should not conclude that the post-Cold War period is now defunct. However, we should not underestimate the degree of potential threat the ministers perceive as coming from the East. To manage to reach a unanimous position on this matter says plenty of unsaid things about the seriousness of the situation. The intention had been, up to now, to de-escalate. Today´s conclusions do escalate the tension. They certainly have powerful reasons to believe that this is the right course of action at this stage.