The states that will be present at the meeting – known as the “Bergen Group” – say that its purpose is not to break the alliance, writes Politico.
The Trump Administration has excluded several important allies from a NATO members meeting that will take place next month.
The meeting planned in Poland and coordinated by the head of the Pentagon’s policy department, Elbridge Colby, is essentially a working group focused on the future of NATO, several diplomats familiar with the planning told Politico.
However, many of the states that did not receive an invitation – such as the United Kingdom, France, and the Baltic countries – allocate a significant budget to Defense and play key roles within the alliance, which makes their diplomats wonder why they are being left out.
Romania does not appear on the list of participants either.
Although the details regarding the new NATO working group are still vague, it follows Trump’s threat line of rewarding some at the expense of others.
Colby has organized two similar meetings with Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Germany, and the Netherlands. The countries involved in the meeting – known as the “Bergen Group” – insist that its purpose is not to break the alliance, a diplomat from one of the invited countries stated.
Instead, the group intends to come up with ideas that it can present to the entire alliance for a more in-depth analysis.
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