A document from the British National Archives that was resurfaced in a report by the German newspaper Der Spiegel reveals that the Soviet Union was promised NATO wouldn’t expand eastward during negotiations at the end of the Cold War.
The document is the minutes of a meeting between foreign ministry officials from the US, France, Germany, and Britain in Bonn, Germany, on March 6th, 1991. Officials referenced the “two plus four” negotiations that were held with the Soviet Union in 1990 to reunify East and West Germany.
“We made it clear in the two plus four negotiations that we would not expand NATO beyond the Elbe. We can therefore not offer NATO membership to Poland and the others,” German diplomat Jürgen Chrobog said at the 1991 meeting.
The French, US, and British officials also agreed on the issue of NATO expansion, including Raymond Seitz, who served as the US assistant secretary of state for Canada and Europe at the time.
“We have made it clear to the Soviet Union in two plus four talks and elsewhere that we will not take advantage of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Eastern Europe,” Seitz said, according to the document.
The document was previously classified and was discovered by Joshua Shifrinson, an international relations professor at Boston University.
The document bolsters Russia’s case that it was promised NATO wouldn’t expand eastward after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact. NATO has grown from 16 members to 30 and has absorbed several former Soviet states, including some that border Russia.
The promise was never part of an official treaty, which is why Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking written guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia won’t ever join the alliance.
“Soviet Union Was Promised”
Soviet Union doesn’t exist any longer. Who cares what it was promised? How is this still a topic? Even Russia has considered joining NATO since then.
And Russia considered that when? Maybe the antagonism towards Russia has increased a tad since then making the promise of no NATO expansion relevant. Our stooge Yelstin isn’t in charge anymore
“antagonism towards Russia has increased a tad”
“antagonism” in this cas doesn’t come out of nowhere. Historically Poland has been invaded by Russia, Ukraine had 10-20% of its population starved, Czechoslovakia was invaded by Russia, etc. And recently Ukraine was invaded by Russia several times. Since Russia is still behaving in same imperialistic way, all those countries are scared of them.
Russia’s antagonism towards its neighbors has been increasing instead of decreasing as expected, hence making NATO expansion relevant and desirable.
The antagonism previous the Cold War isn’t really relevant since the NATO expansion began almost immediately after it ended. So, “all those countries” didn’t even have time to be “scared of them” before the antagonism from the West started. Anything since, has been Russia reacting to more antagonism from the West which began almost immediately when the Cold War ended and never abated. Russia hatred has been a bipartisan issue in Congress the entire time.
So everyone just woke up one morning, “hey, let’s hate peaceful Russia for no reason!”, that’s your theory?
No, everyone woke up the morning after the Cold War ended and had two choices. Either embrace Russia as an equal or treat her like a piece of shit. Guess which one they chose?
That’s saying the exact same thing. Somehow everyone woke up treating all other former Soviet countries as equals while being mean to poor little innocent Russia? Really?
Yes, it is saying the same thing since it apparently didn’t register with you the first time. Was Russia embraced as an equal? Or was Russia treated as a piece of shit? It’s really quite simple. And obvious.
How exactly was “Russia treated as a piece of shit?” ? If someones’ treated like that, it’s Russia’s neighbors by Russia, and Russia’s citizens by Russia’s government.
And you’re still avoiding the question of why exactly would Russia have been picked as a hate-target (and not all the others former Soviet nations), even if it were the case.
Seriously? You can’t figure out why the most important, powerful piece of the USSR was signaled out?
But I’ll let Sheldon Richmond speak for me:
“No one I know who criticizes America’s post-Cold War policy toward Russia — including the U.S. position on Ukraine — thinks Vladimir Putin is a good guy. Indeed, the case against U.S. bellicosity toward Russia in no way depends on a favorable view of the Russian ruler. On the contrary, it is because Putin is who he is (an aggrieved nationalist) and because of Russia’s place in history that the U.S. policy of ignoring, when not belittling, Russia’s security concerns is so dangerous. Russia’s history — including multiple invasions from the west — is what it is, and that huge nuclear power isn’t going anywhere, no matter what America’s warmongers would like. Neither are its neighbors going to relocate anytime soon. So a regional modus vivendi is imperative. If the U.S. government continues to stand in the way — remember the U.S.-backed coup against the elected Ukrainian government in 2014 and the repeated eastward expansion of NATO since the Cold War — it is an agent of war, not peace.”
https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2022/02/23/sheldon-richman-asks-why-provoke-putin/
Oh I see. So your definition of “treating Russia as a piece of shit” is “not being enthusiastic when a dictator treats the whole world, including Russians, like pieces of shit”. And your definition of “agent of war” is anyone who dares “stand in the way” of said dictator’s aggressive wars. Right.
NATO offered Russia to join NATO as a ruse to disarm Russia’s objections to NATO’s expansion. It was a joke and Russia never even considered it. Russia should have accepted to expose NATO’s BS
And Clinton told Putin “NO” when he asked if Russia could join NATO.
Lord Ismay, the first head of NATO said, “The purpose of NATO is to keep Russia out, keep America in, and keep Germany down.”
maybe figure out how to deal with these girlys dating apps that immediately show up-voting on every Disqus comment the very instant that a comment is made.
Damn man, and here I thought I was a stud and they were my groupies.
? I feel left out.
oh it seems that they have all suddenly changed their names to “1 guest vote”
Native Americans, Central Americans and Phillipinoes, among others, could have told the Russians what “promises” from us are worth.
Dont forget native Americans
Powers are convinced there can be no limit to victory: but every empire meets its Nemesis.
https://www.ghostsofhistory.wordpress.com/
Capitalists and imperialists always break their promises.
No amount of proof can overcome the reflexive denials in the US media.
Of course it is true, we heard it loudly and clearly at the time, those of us who were there and remember. That is not the point.
Iran Deal. That is what this is. The privilege to lie and cheat, and brazenly face it down.
NATO started this crisis when they staged the coup in 2014
Russia has been invaded by the French, by the Germans twice and by the US when Wilson sent a contingent of 12,000 soldiers to fight the Bolsheviks and ensure they did not make peace with Germany.
In the last invasion they lost 30 million people.
Russia has a valid concern with NATO, especially after they attacked and destroyed 5 countries with total disregard for human life or international law.
The same way that NATO claims that Ukraine has the right to chose who they host, so Russia has the right to determine who will be their neighbor.
“In the last invasion they lost 30 million people.”
You mean the one by Nazi Germany which would not have been even possible if Russia hadn’t illegally helped them rebuild their army in the first place, then allied with them to together invade Poland? Yeah, totally the victim there. Also, Soviet invasion of Iran during that time, so that (future) NATO countries could save their ass through huge weapons deliveries?
Ignore if promises were made or not.
Rather besides the point.
But imagine…Soviet union collapses. We are all friends. Life is good. And…we are going to expand the military alliance and put troops on your border.
What?
Imagine if China put troops in Mexico, Cuba, and Canada. Might we take issue with that?