Europe, U.S. work to appear united as they get set to face off with Russia over Ukraine – By Alexander Smith (NBC News) / January 9, 2022
“The Kremlin will be doing everything it can to put pressure on all these potential fissures,” says retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges.
LONDON — With the threat of war looming over Ukraine, the West hopes a flurry of high-level talks the United States and NATO will have this week with Russia will avert a conflict.
The West faces a daunting task in trying to get Russia to back down, while addressing Moscow’s demands that would reshape Europe’s post-Cold War security landscape.
But just as crucial to the talks, according to officials and experts, is resolving suggestions of disunity between Washington and its European allies on how to approach the Kremlin.
“The No. 1 thing” for the talks to be successful “is that it’s not just the U.S.,” said retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe. The Kremlin needs to know that whatever President Joe Biden or Secretary of State Antony Blinken say, it represents U.S. allies and that it is facing a united front, he added.
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