This is the first letter of this kind after 1989. A group of former heads of state, heads of government, and cabinet ministers from the former Soviet-bloc countries warn in an open letter to the US president that the region's close alliance with America, until now treated as axiomatic, is undergoing its most severe test ever today.
'As the new Obama Administration sets its foreign-policy priorities,' we read in the letter, 'our region is one part of the world that Americans have largely stopped worrying about. Indeed, at times we have the impression that U.S. policy was so successful [here] that many American officials have now concluded that our region is fixed once and for all and that they could "check the box" and move on to other more pressing strategic issues. Relations have been so close that many on both sides assume that the region's transatlantic orientation, as well as its stability and prosperity, would last forever. That view is premature.'
The letter, its tone much sharper than the usual language of diplomacy, has been signed, besides the ex-presidents of Poland and Czechoslovakia, also by the former presidents of Lithuania,
Valdas Adamkus, Romania, Emil Constantinescu, Slovakia, Michal Kovacz, and Latvia, Vaira Vike-Freiberga. Among the twenty two signatories there is also the former prime minister of
Estonia, Mart Laar, and from Poland, ex-foreign minister Adam Rotfeld and ex-defence minister Janusz Onyszkiewicz.
Most of the signatories are politicians known for their sympathy for the US. The letter likely comes as a reaction to the recent cooling of the region's relations with the US. Many expert believe that Central and Eastern Europe is not a priority for the Obama administration. Also opinion polls show public support for the alliance with America falling steadily.
The letter will be presented in Washington today at a conference organised by the renowned political scientist, Ron Asmus, connected to the Democrats, co-author of the policy of Nato's eastwards enlargement. Among those attending will be former US secretary of state, Madeleine Albright.
The letter's authors warn that 'Central and Eastern Europe is at a political crossroads and today there is a growing sense of nervousness in the region,' because, among other things, of the fact that the 'Atlantic alliance stood by' when Russia 'violated the core principles of the Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris, and the territorial integrity of a country that was a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace and the Euroatlantic Partnership Council' during its invasion of Georgia last year. 'We welcome the "reset" of the American-Russian relations,' write the letter's signatories, because 'nobody has a greater interest in the development of the democracy in Russia and better relations between Moscow and the West than we do,' but they warn Mr Obama against making the wrong concessions: 'When it comes to Moscow, our experience has been that a more determined and principled policy toward Moscow will not only strengthen the West's security but will ultimately lead Moscow to follow a more cooperative policy as well.'
The 'thorniest issue,' though, may be the planned US missile defence installations in Central and Eastern Europe. The agreements with Warsaw and Prague were signed by the George W. Bush administration and the Obama administration has still not decided whether to pursue the plans. The issue has become 'a symbol of America's credibility and commitment to the region. ( ) Abandoning the program entirely or involving Russia too deeply in it without consulting Poland or the Czech Republic can undermine the credibility of the United States across the whole region.'
Karel Schwarzenberg, ex-foreign minister, Czech Republic, one of the letter's signatories, for Gazeta: I don't know whether
Barack Obama doesn't understand Moscow's ambitions in our part of the world or simply underestimates them. Perhaps, with China,
Iran, and the whole of Middle East on his mind, Mr Obama has crossed us off his priorities list. If this is the case, then our role is to make him aware of that mistake. And this is not about saving the missile defence at all cost. Still, our consent to it was a confirmation of our friendship with the US. That's why we should have a say in the debate about it.
Full text of the letter here
