The Baltic states are "very unhappy" after the UK did not invite their leaders to join a summit on Ukraine this weekend, a European diplomatic source has said, Sky News reported.
"Russia and our public see clearly that we have been betrayed by the US, but also by the UK and France," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who returned from a meeting with Donald Trump in Washington, is due to host the leaders of more than a dozen European countries for a summit in the UK on Sunday to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine and European security.
However, the Baltic states, which are on the front lines of the line of potential Russian aggression, were not invited. Bulgaria is also among the countries that were not invited. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to attend the meeting.
The three Baltic states - located on NATO's eastern flank with Russia - are among the countries spending the most on defense in NATO as a percentage of GDP. They are also, relative to their small size, among the biggest supporters of Ukraine - providing weapons and funding to Kiev to help the Ukrainian armed forces fight off Russia's invasion.
Their absence from the meeting sends a bad signal at a time when the fate of Ukraine is at stake, and then potentially the fate of Eastern Europe.
“All decisions directly affect our security. Like another pact to divide Europe or to take us for granted. Shameful“, the source was quoted by Sky News. It is unclear why these countries were not invited.