[ad_1]
The Baltic states are “very unhappy” after the UK failed to invite their leaders to join a summit on Ukraine this weekend, a European diplomatic source has said.
The source, with knowledge of the situation, warned that Moscow would notice with interest that Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have been excluded.
“Russia and our publics will clearly assess this that we are sold out by the US, but also by [the] UK and France,” said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Sir Keir Starmer, fresh back from a friendly meeting with Donald Trump in Washington, is due to host the leaders of more than a dozen European countries for a summit in the UK on Sunday to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine and wider European security.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is holding talks with the US president at the White House on Friday, is also due to attend.
The diplomatic source confirmed Sir Keir would have a phone call with the leaders of the Baltic states – but signalled this was a poor substitute for not participating in the summit, which will take place in person.
“We are truly very unhappy with a refusal to invite the Baltic leaders,” the source said.
The three Baltic countries – located on NATO’s eastern flank with Russia – are among the highest defence spenders in NATO as a percentage of GDP.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What happened when Starmer met Trump?
They are also, relative to their small size, among the biggest supporters of Ukraine – giving weapons and funding to help the Ukrainian armed forces fight off Russia’s invasion -…
[ad_2]
