Eastern and Western Europeans perceive the Russian danger differently

The president of Estonia said that Russia's strike into Georgia should persuade NATO urgently to give Georgia and Ukraine membership of the alliance. Toomas Hendrik Ilves also said that Russia's actions should cause a strategic re-think in Europe as defense planners had assumed Russia presented no threat. "They should take Ukraine immediately into NATO, and what is left of Georgia," he told Reuters, adding that a decision this year not to give the two countries a road map to membership had persuaded Russia it had free hand in the region. Russia's invasion of Georgia seems to have concentrated the minds of at least some politicians in Europe. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced Thursday that his country had agreed to host 10 American missile-defense interceptors. The agreement comes along with an enhanced promise of mutual defense between the U.S. and Poland. The missile-defense agreement comes after a year and a half of back-and-forth and domestic political squabbling in Poland. As part of the deal, the U.S. will help Poland beef up its air defenses. Ten missile interceptors are no deterrent to the Russian nuclear stockpile. Still, the Poles understand that greater military integration with NATO and especially the U.S. is Poland's only real insurance against „a bear attack,” writes the Wall Street Journal, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. The Austrian daily Der Standard criticizes the direction taken by the talks of the EU foreign ministers on the Caucasian conflict. “The Georgians, but also the inhabitants from the area euphemistically called by Moscow “the close neighborhood” – Ukraine, the Baltics, Moldova, the oil republic of Azerbaijan – rub their eyes puzzled at the decision of the EU ministers. They decided to send to Georgia: observers. In Georgia, where every minute counts.” “Only the East Europeans, who already have the experience of the former USSR, and the British, who do not let themselves deceived by the nature of the new Russia, are ready to stand for the Georgians' defense. Ukraine limited the movement of the Russian military ships to its Crimean harbor. Here's a sign of concrete solidarity the Georgians expected!” writes Der Standard, quoted by Info-Prim Neo.