The US Secretary of Defense will visit these countries before traveling to Brussels for a meeting of NATO defense ministers. The Pentagon considers the trip a clear signal to Moscow, the author points out that the United States and its allies firmly support the sovereignty of Ukraine and Georgia in the face of "Russian provocations." But the real provocation is this trip itself.
This week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will emphasize that the doors to NATO for Ukraine and Georgia, which are on the front line of Russian aggression, are open, Pentagon officials said over the weekend.
Austin will visit both these countries and Romania in the coming days before traveling to Brussels for a meeting of NATO defense ministers. Pentagon officials consider the trip a clear signal to Moscow that the United States and its alliance allies firmly support the sovereignty of Ukraine and Georgia in the face of Russian provocations and military expansion over the past decade.
"We support the countries that are on the front line of Russian aggression and strengthen their sovereignty," said a senior representative of the Ministry of Defense.
Russian troops occupied parts of Georgia and Ukraine. Moscow's loudest and most controversial move in the region was made in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea. The United States and many of its allies do not recognize the annexation and still consider Crimea Ukrainian.
As representatives of the Ministry of Defense reported against this background, Austin will tell the leaders of Ukraine and Georgia that the doors to NATO are open, but both countries will have to take steps to apply for membership.
Neither Georgia nor Ukraine are members of the alliance of 30 countries. The full integration of any of them into NATO will cause fierce resistance from Russia, which has long opposed the expansion of the alliance to its borders.
Even if none of these countries can join NATO in the near future, alliance leaders say more needs to be done to help them resist Russian aggression.
"We must provide more support and more training, build capacity, help carry out reforms, fight corruption and build their security and defense institutions," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a speech in Washington earlier this month.
"We must clearly establish that there are other gradations between nothing and full membership."
Ben Wolfgang
