US leaves UK, France and Baltic states out of NATO future talks - Politico
The Pentagon has left several major NATO allies, including the United Kingdom, France and the Baltic states, out of a U.S.-led meeting in Poland that is expected to discuss the alliance's future, Politico reported.
Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby is spearheading the meeting, described by diplomats as a working group focused on NATO's future.
Britain, France, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were among the countries not invited, despite several of them being among NATO's major defense spenders.
“We're doing everything that is being asked of us,” an official from one excluded country told Politico. “We're trying to understand what the criteria is and what the purpose of these meetings are.”
The White House did not respond to Politico's request for comment, while the Pentagon declined to comment.
Colby has previously held two meetings in the same format with Poland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. The talks have become known as the Bergen Group, and Denmark could also be added.
A diplomat from one of the participating countries said the smaller format was not intended to divide NATO but to develop proposals that could later be considered by the full alliance.
Colby has similarly said the aim is to “pull the whole alliance along” and build a stronger NATO with greater European military capacity.
Still, diplomats from both invited and excluded countries have questioned why some major European military powers have been left out.
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