President-elect Joe Biden is being asked to take a tough stance towards his NATO allies, in particular, to “hold accountable” to Germany. The New York Times wrote about it.
According to the author of the article, Robert M. Gates, who served as Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush. and Barack Obama from 2006 to 2011, the new American administration should make Germany answer not only for the low spending on NATO, as the incumbent President Donald Trump spoke about, but also for “an attempt to exchange economic and security interests of Poland and Ukraine for benefit from the use of Nord Stream 2.
The publication also mentions a deal between Turkey and Russia to acquire the S-400 air defense system. Such a deal “must have a price,” Gates said, and the recent sanctions are a good start. Also, Turkey should be called to account for actions in Libya and Syria that run counter to the interests of other NATO countries.
According to the NYT, they should occupy a leading position in NATO and possibly exclude Turkey, Hungary and Poland, which, according to the publication, are moving towards totalitarianism, from the alliance.
On December 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a large press conference, said that the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was almost complete and expressed hope that the new US administration would treat its allies with respect and take into account their interest in the project.
On December 11, it was reported that the US Senate approved the country’s draft military budget for fiscal 2021 (began on October 1), which includes, among other things, sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Nord Stream 2 is being built from Russia to the Federal Republic of Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Due to earlier US sanctions, pipe-laying work was suspended as the Swiss company Allseas withdrew its vessels from the Baltic. The EU countries mainly support the project and participate in its implementation. The United States, the Baltic states, Poland and Ukraine are opposed.