Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide warned on Wednesday that Western governments must not allow the expanding Middle East conflict to divert attention and resources away from Ukraine’s war against Russia.
Speaking to Polish public television’s TVP World, Eide said the outcome of the Ukraine war would shape Europe’s future security order, and he warned against any settlement that resembled the power politics of the Yalta Conference, when major powers divided Europe into spheres of influence at the end of the Second World War.
“The number one issue for us is Ukraine,” Eide said, adding that any eventual settlement should have “nothing in it that suggests to President Putin and Russia that this was a useful intervention.”
Eide said he had just attended a meeting of countries he described as Ukraine’s “very best friends,” referring to Poland, Germany, the Nordic states and the Baltic countries, whose foreign ministers are in Warsaw for an informal ministerial meeting of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on Wednesday.
He said the talks focused on coordinating military and political support for Kiev, as well as discussing the shape of Europe’s post-war security architecture.
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According to Eide, Western allies must ensure that Moscow cannot block sovereign countries from joining institutions such as NATO or the EU.
“The next era in Europe will be decided at the end of the war, not after the war,” he said.
Ukraine’s partners have been debating what long-term security guarantees might look like if the war eventually ends in a ceasefire. Proposals have included binding commitments by Western states and mechanisms to respond if Russia violates any future agreement.