Eastern bloc condemns 'Munich 1938' US policies.

The Trump administration's sympathy for Moscow's anti-Nato demands has been likened to Nazi appeasement, as parts of the alliance's eastern bloc warn that the US is priming nonmembers for invasion.

- TOM WATLING

Top officials from four Eastern European countries have hit out after Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, appeared to support Vladimir Putin's reported demand to have in writing that Nato will not accept any new members from the region.

In an interview with US network ABC News, Mr Kellogg described Putin's latest position as a "fair" one that was likely to include not just Ukraine but also Georgia and Moldova. His comments prompted the Kremlin to say yesterday they were "glad" that Putin's opposition to Nato was finally "being met with understanding" from Washington.

A senior Lithuanian official, granted anonymity so they could speak freely, told The Independent that any cooperation between Mr Trump and Putin to block nations who are fearful of Russia from joining Nato would be a dangerous repeat of history.

"It looks like Munich, when great powers decide the fate of small ones," the official said, referencing the 1938 agreement between Adolf Hitler, the UK, France and Italy that ultimately led to Nazi Germany invading Czechoslovakia.

The official added that blocking Moldova and Georgia's Nato membership was a signal to Putin that they would not be defended. It also casts doubt on the alliance's independence, the official said.