Former East European leaders ask Barack Obama a firmer policy towards Russia

A group of former Central and East European leaders sent an open letter to US President Barack on Thursday urging him not to forget the US strategic interests in the region and promote a firmer policy towards Russia, AFP reports.

The letter was signed, among others, by ex-Romanian President Emil Constantinescu, who served as head of state in the second half of the nineties.

It reads that based on East European experience a value-based, firmer policy towards Russia would secure not only the security of the West but would also determine Moscow to prove more open to cooperation.

The letter is signed, among others, by Lech Walesa, Aleksander Kwasniewski and Vaclav Havel. The letter was published by Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and was due to be presented in a press conference in Washington on Thursday.