Pro-NATO Senators Urge Biden to Take 5 Steps

Members of the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group have outlined, in a letter to President Joe Biden, five pieces of advice they have for him in hopes of helping Ukraine when he is in Brussels this upcoming week for a crucial summit of the organization's members.

"Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine reflects his refusal to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Russia's neighbors," the Senate group writes in the letter sent to Biden Friday, according to Politico's NatSec Daily, which obtained the document exclusively. "As a result, countless lives have been lost and the security framework of Europe that has kept peace for nearly 80 years is under attack."

First, the group wants Biden to commend the allies who have agreed to increase their defense spending to 2% of their countries' GDP after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.

This would particularly include Germany after its new Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged to increase funds after Berlin refused for years. Currently, just 10 of NATO's 30 member states reach that benchmark, and that lack of spending has sparked frequent complaints and a push to do more from former President Donald Trump.

Next, the lawmakers wrote, they want the members of NATO to "urgently consider" all military options for supporting Ukraine, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's request to Congress "for military equipment to defend Ukraine's own skies."

"NATO must balance the threat of Russia's invasion of Ukraine with the need to deescalate the conflict," the letter noted, as most lawmakers have said they support assistance for Ukraine's military and humanitarian reasons, but not a direct armed involvement by NATO forces.

Third on the list, the lawmakers said they want Biden to request NATO bolster its presence on its eastern front. They said NATO should establish an "enhanced forward presence" in Romania, requesting "the administration and NATO consider a more strategic and comprehensive approach toward the Black Sea region, which Russia is freely using to attack Ukraine and kill countless innocent civilians."

Russian missiles hitting targets four miles away from the city center of Lviv were launched from ships in the Black Sea, NPR reported Friday.

The senators, in their fourth request, said they want Biden to encourage NATO to focus on and "increase its engagement" in the Balkans.

"The Balkans is a vulnerable area of Europe, and although Ukraine must occupy our immediate attention, we cannot lose sight of this region where NATO has long played a critical role in maintaining peace," they wrote, also calling on the organization to "consider contingency measures in the event that Russia vetoes the renewal of the European Union Forces mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the United Nations Security Council later this year."

Finally, the senators wrote they want Biden to add a visit to an Eastern European NATO country, such as a Baltic nation or in Romania, adding that stopping in would be "particularly welcomed."

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., one of the chairpersons of the Senate pro-NATO group and who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told NatSec Daily she is encouraging Biden to consider the letter's requests "to further strengthen our alliance and help Ukraine as it defends its land, people and freedom."

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., another member of the group, said it is "imperative" the Brussels meeting "produces tangible results, including providing more military assistance to Ukraine and fortifying our Eastern European allies against potential Russian attacks."

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