Polish and German foreign ministers discussed Nord Stream 2, Belarus and Ukraine

"Poland will continue to demand that the Nord Stream project should be closed and our policy in that field will not change," Zbigniew Rau said of the pipeline during a joint press conference with Germany's new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on her second day in office. Poland had consistently pointed out the harmfulness of this project for the two countries' mutual relations, said Rau.

"Today’s threats to the peace in Europe are also a product of the policies of the former German governments. Driven by a thirst for profit, they made a catastrophic decision, as we can see today, to build the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines together with Russia," Rau added in regards to the pipelines' implementation for Central Eastern Europe.

"We’ve been dealing with a situation when one country, a UN member state that signed the OSCE Conference Final Act as well as the Charter of Paris for a New Europe, conducts its foreign policy using force or threats as well as annexation and occupation of the neighbouring countries’ territories. Such measures are prohibited by international law and they are illegitimate by the standards of today’s civilization."

"For us, there is no doubt that in the face of the deterioration of the security environment in the east... we need to jointly strive to ensure even greater deterrence and defence of our states," Zbigniew Rau told a news conference.

"We stand here today in full responsibility and solidarity on the side of Poland and the Baltic state in the face of Lukashenko’s blackmailing manoeuvre," said Baerbock, referring to the migrant crisis at the Poland-Belarus border.

The European Union has accused Belarus of helping thousands of migrants, mostly from Iraq, to fly to Minsk and attempt to enter EU members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Belarus denies the accusation.

Baerbock also confirmed that both Poland and Germany stand with their obligations as NATO member states. They will support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, which the NATO has said is currently being threatened by Russian troop movements near Ukraine's border.

"As earlier in Brussels and Paris, we also discussed the movements of troops near the Ukraine border. We confirmed our obligations as NATO member states. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity cannot be used as a bargaining chip. We need solutions and these solutions can only be found through diplomatic efforts. In January 2022, Poland will start its OSCE presidency, as Zbigniew said. The OSCE is the platform that guarantees human rights and stability from Lisbon to Vladivostok. We’ll support Poland as much as we can," German foreign minister said.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday promised Central European NATO members more military support as concern grows over a Russian troop build-up on the border with Ukraine, Lithuania's presidential adviser said.

Biden also reassured the allies that Washington would not reach any agreement with Russia about the region behind their backs, adviser Asta Skaisgiryte told reporters.

The U.S. president had spoken by phone to the leaders of NATO countries along the alliance's border with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria.

"He said additional reassurance elements are possible in these countries, and additional military capabilities," Skaisgiryte said, without naming possible locations.

Russia has amassed troops on its border with Ukraine, where Kremlin-backed rebels have been fighting the Kyiv government, raising fears that it might be preparing to invade.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied he intends to attack Ukraine, but he has bridled against what he sees as NATO's eastward expansion and the deployment of military hardware close to its border.

On the leaders' call, Polish President Andrzej Duda pressed Biden to ensure that talks on how to handle any potential Russian aggression were not carried out solely in a small circle of countries, a Polish official said.

Before a call with Putin on Tuesday, Biden consulted with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

"Four countries can't speak on behalf of NATO," the Polish official told Reuters.

In Washington, a senior Biden administration official said Biden told the NATO leaders the U.S. was committed to the alliance's charter which says an armed attack against one member shall be considered an attack on them all.

Biden's phone call with them followed his promise of high-level meetings with Russia and major NATO allies to discuss Moscow's concerns and to try to cool tensions.

The senior U.S. official said the United States was prepared to discuss security issues with Moscow but that Biden made no concessions when he spoke to Putin on Tuesday.