He noted that even after Russia had annexed Crimea, it took nearly a year for the European Union to respond with serious sanctions against Moscow. And on Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron of France surprised and irritated many European Union colleagues with an address to the E.U. “And then propose it for negotiation to Russia.”French officials said Thursday that Mr. Macron was not seeking to undermine NATO’s unity. But the net effect of the words by Mr. Biden and Mr. Macron accentuated the frictions within the Western alliance, analysts said, a potential advantage for Russia. But neither the United States nor Europe have detailed the exact steps they intend to take.

Source: New York Times January 20, 2022 15:06 UTC