Does the Biden administration plan to strengthen trans-Atlantic relations apply to all of Europe, or only to Berlin and Brussels? That’s a question the Poles, among others, are asking. Recently, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau gave an interview to the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita on the state of U.S.-Polish relations under U.S. President Joe Biden. In short: They’re not good. When asked how he learned about Biden’s decision to forgo sanctions on Nord Stream 2—the Baltic pipeline that Warsaw and Washington have fought for years to stop—Rau replied: “From the media. Our American allies did not find time to consult with the region most exposed to the consequences of that decision.”
Rau’s criticism will come as a revelation to much of the U.S. media and foreign-policy commentariat, for whom it is received wisdom that Biden is overseeing a comprehensive resuscitation of trans-Atlantic relations following four years of supposed neglect by former President Donald Trump.
