“When I joined the conversation in late November and early December, I definitely picked up the fact that not all of the allies around the table were in agreement,” she said.
“We had some countries arguing that this was an age-old tactic on the part of the Russians — they like to posture themselves to be in a very threatening position, and that this was, in fact, no different than what we had seen in years past,” she continued. “Those countries were concluding that Russia would stop short of crossing Ukraine’s borders.”
Much time was wasted. “A lot of the time that I spent in those early weeks was just continuing the conversation, inviting more briefers from Washington, sharing as much intelligence as we could,” she added.
When the war broke out on Feb. 24, 2022, Smith received a call at 3 a.m. in her residence — which she calls her toughest moment at NATO.
“It was hard to get the phone call,” she said. “We were certain that Russia was going to do this, but to actually get the confirmation that it had started really was a gut punch.”
For now, the U.S. is not ready to extend an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO, a key point in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s victory plan. “The alliance has not, to date, reached the point where it is prepared to offer membership or an invitation to Ukraine,” Smith said, adding that “our intent is to keep moving them closer to NATO.”
Despite the widespread concern that Trump could pull away NATO’s security umbrella, Smith — an appointee of President Joe Biden who has nominated her to be an under secretary of state, pending congressional approval — is unfazed.
“For 75 years, U.S. presidents of all political stripes have supported this alliance and committed themselves to providing leadership across the alliance,” Smith said. “I have full faith that the U.S. will continue to play that role going forward, irrespective of what happens on November 5.”