US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s inaugural working visit to Europe has run into its first setback. At Nato’s headquarters outside central Brussels, she and other alliance foreign ministers have been discussing how to start a new era in relations with Russia. Last night, according to US officials, it seemed a sure bet that everyone would agree to restore high-level ministerial contacts with Moscow – they were suspended after last August’s Russian-Georgian war.
But this afternoon it has become clear that Lithuania is raising objections. The Lithuanians want the issue to be debated at greater length at a summit of the 26 Nato countries’ leaders in Strasbourg and Kehl, Germany, on April 3-4. Other countries are impatient to get the process started sooner rather than later.
The problem is that Nato works by consensus, rather than by majority voting. So at the moment the Lithuanians can block everything if they choose. Some will remember that they did something similar inside the European Union not long ago, resisting the appeals of other EU states to open talks on a long-term partnership agreement with Russia.
How this is sorted out will be the first serious test of Clinton’s diplomatic skills.
Across the globe: Gideon Rachman and his FT colleagues debate international affairs on © The Financial Times Ltd 2012 FT and 'Financial Times' are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.