Washington would support a possible security alliance between the UK, Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states, says its envoy to NATO
The US permanent representative to NATO, Julianne Smith, said on Tuesday that Washington “I want to support” the idea of a new security alliance, which reportedly could include Ukraine, the UK, Poland, the Baltic states and possibly Turkey.
Last month, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had floated the idea of a so-called “Commonwealth Europea” to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to kyiv in early April.
According to the newspaper’s sources, Johnson sees the bloc as “a new system of political, economic and military alliances, an alternative to the European Union”.
He believes that the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as well as Turkey “potentially at a later stage” should unite on the basis of their “mistrust towards Brussels”, dissatisfaction with Germany’s slow response to Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, and concern over the threat Moscow poses to security on the continent, the Italian newspaper reported.
During her briefing on Tuesday, Julianne Smith was asked how the United States would react if London finally succeeded in bringing her idea of a “Commonwealth Europea”.
She responded by suggesting that such a union could contribute to NATO’s goal of further strengthening its eastern flank, which became a priority for the US-led alliance after the Ukraine conflict erupted in late February.
“Obviously, we support initiatives that help build capacity. And to the extent that NATO members break up into associations or into some groups to help build capacity and collectively…strengthen the Alliance, then that’s something we’d like to support.” the American envoy said.
Aside from Ukraine, the potential members of the new grouping are all NATO members, with Poland and the three Baltic states also in the EU.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not yet responded to Johnson’s questions. “Commonwealth Europea” proposal, while awaiting the outcome of an EU summit on June 23, Corriere della Sera reported. During the meeting, European leaders will decide whether Ukraine should be granted EU candidate nation status.
A Politico report on Monday stated that the European Commission would support granting such status to kyiv. Other reports suggested that nations such as Denmark and the Netherlands could block Ukraine’s bid over concerns about corruption and the rule of law in the country.