The US promised the Soviets that, as part of Germany’s reunification in 1990, they would not seek the advantage of expanding NATO. There was no formal agreement.
Washington D.C., December 12, 2017 – U.S. Secretary of State James Baker’s famous “not one inch eastward” assurance about NATO expansion in his meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on February 9, 1990, was part of a cascade of assurances about Soviet security given by Western leaders to Gorbachev and other Soviet officials throughout the process of German unification in 1990 and on into 1991, according to declassified U.S., Soviet, German, British and French documents posted today by the National Security Archive at George Washington University (http://nsarchive.gwu.edu).
The documents show that multiple national leaders were considering and rejecting Central and Eastern European membership in NATO as of early 1990 and through 1991, that discussions of NATO in the context of German unification negotiations in 1990 were not at all narrowly limited to the status of East German territory, and that subsequent Soviet and Russian complaints about being misled about NATO expansion were founded in written contemporaneous memcons and telcons at the highest levels.
The documents reinforce former CIA Director Robert Gates’s criticism of “pressing ahead with expansion of NATO eastward [in the 1990s], when Gorbachev and others were led to believe that wouldn’t happen.”[1] The key phrase, buttressed by the documents, is “led to believe.”
President George H.W. Bush had assured Gorbachev during the Malta summit in December 1989 that the U.S. would not take advantage (“I have not jumped up and down on the Berlin Wall”) of the revolutions in Eastern Europe to harm Soviet interests; but neither Bush nor Gorbachev at that point (or for that matter, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl) expected so soon the collapse of East Germany or the speed of German unification.[2]…
After the USSR collapsed, all assurances were off the table.
The mass media liars have proven to be so unreliable that we cannot accept a word they say about Putin or anything else. We have lived in a near total disinformation society while believing we were the leaders of the “free” world. What a joke!
The Obvious should not have needed a Contract. Pushing East Like, Adolph Hitler, would cause a WAR. Naturally, Common Sense is Missing in America.
It was still our word, which we violated.
The 2 agreements on Ukraine were official, and guaranteed neutrality. That makes us the bad side in Ukraine. As we found out recently, some officials never took the promise seriously. So, they were liars and cheaters.
I’ll stay right here on the US side of the fence, and back the real NATO. You people can be ruled under UN agenda 2030. Driven to and fro like sheep. Not on my time. And Putin was a avid backer of all the UN global mandates.
Russia today is NOT the same as it was under the Communist Soviet Union. Much like the Germany of today is not the same as Nazi Germany, Italy not the same as Fascist Italy, and Japan not the same as Imperial Japan. They are very different and we have been blowing an opportunity to turn an enemy to an ally like we did with Germany, Italy, and Japan after WWII!
Welcome to Ukraine, the most corrupt nation in Europe | Ukraine | The Guardian
Last I checked USSR hasn’t existed in quite some time so this is irrelevant. Countries can sign treaties at their will. Russia is the aggressor here. Period.
In theory, yes. However if an Aggressor nation such as China were to attempt to surround and isolate the US by going into military pacts with Canada and Mexico the US would HAVE to respond, militarily if necessary!
Tell us what theory in your world makes the west violating written agreements OK?
Ukraine was the aggressor by attacking the ethnic Russians in the Donbass, shelling schools, hospitals and apartments, starting in 2014. The Azov’s also forced those ethnic Russians into a building and set it on fire and used gunfire to keep them in. One video even showed a politician firing a weapon.
That’s why they voted in a referendum to be part of Russia, the same as Kosovo gained independence.
You check things? I doubt that.
The USSR ended as part of the promises we made to not move eastward. Where were you, noisemaker?
The 2 international agreements guaranteeing the neutrality of Ukraine were done as part of the dissolution of the USSR, and later. Why are you unable to pay attention?
You are the propagandist here, period. How is your hero the crook Joe Never Negotiate Biden?
He is no hero of mine. Not sure where you’d get that from. If Ukraine wants to join NATO that is their prerogative, not Russia’s. putin wants a puppet regime, which is why he armed Russians in Donbas. You leave plenty of info out. putin is the aggressor and needs to be stopped. donny and jd just want to hand him everything he wants.
And why did the Donbass need arms. Could it be Kiev wanted to ethnic cleanse the East of Russian speakers. As many in the Donbass had said, they didn’t want the perversions of the West imported into their communities. They wanted their own representatives instead of those installed by Kiev, sort of like States in the US voting their own governors.
No putin armed them to cause trouble because the government was pro-west. Come on now. Wake up and keep up
If it was only said because the USSR was a formidable, nuclear power, then it was never sincere. Putin knows the West has been steadily encroaching. He finally called NATO’s bluff in 2022 and has proven them a Paper Tiger. The US needs Russia as an ally to contain an expansionist China. The EU is NOT America’s friend but just another competitor. The US has announced it is not the leader of the ‘free world’ any longer, nor is it the world’s policeman, nor the world’s teat to suck on.
I agree with you 100% through “China” and 50% beyond. We still need to show some global leadership or someone else will and it likely will not end well.
While I think it is “not OK” that promises made were not kept, just because the Soviet Union came apart, America’s word to Russia irrelevant in provoking the war. NATO on Russia’s border is an unacceptable security threat to any non NATO member. You can bet your bottom dollar that if China began to gather alliances for the purpose of aiding in war, and Canada or Mexico tried to join, America would invade before allowing the enemy to have troops or missiles on U.S. borders. Russia has made “no NATO” on it’s borders very clear. Russia has the power and will to enforce “no NATO”…and did.
The U.S. is NATO and NATO is against Russia. Therefore, the BOZOs (Biden, Obama, Zelensky & Operatives) are 100% responsible for provoking this war…not Russia. The best way for America to end this war is to get completely out of it…and out of NATO.
Spot on!
So, US leaders, treating Russia as an evil enemy thought it would be good to lie to them, believing they would not figure it out, or would just be forgiving? Oh, and going along with Merkel’s lies ?. No wonder Putin and others have trust issues.
Only reason we needed NATO then was to defeat mutual adversaries. The US does not need NATO, but it is good to have around as an intended back plan. NATO used for any other purpose than defense is using NATO resources inappropriately.
Our mutual adversaries would love to see NATO disbanded and put out of the picture, it would make the majority of NATO nations less secure militarily. Just rudimentary facts and figures.
An don’t forget that there are a great number of today’s NATO members that were once adversaries of NATO. Illustrating the transformation from adversaries to allies. There are no Negatives to NATO when it’s being used appropriately.
And the defectors can meet up wherever they want, that doesn’t make them participating NATO members, It makes them adversaries, a rogue group standing under the eaves until they cave.
We’ve had allies without NATO and could do so without being a part of it.
We certainly don’t need to spend 75% of an organization that has little merit. They certainly haven’t been on our side in many circumstances.
You’re correct, but Trump will not permanently withdrawal from NATO without trying to salvage what’s left it. He needs to squeeze them hard to get them back in-line, and he is. He understands that what happens abroad has the potential to indirectly effect our well being.
And sure as the sun comes up, the UN would swoop right in and take over as the global governing body. UN agenda 2030 is what would be back in play abroad without US leadership. It has already been initiated with the COVID mandates and lock downs, proven fact that scam came directly from the UN/WHO bunch, and it was nothing more than an engineered social conditioning protocol. It’s not wise to let your opponents govern the world you live in.
Europe is already on board, notwithstanding the US.
Yep, I was going to say that.
Back plan for what? the US pays most of it to begin with, why not invest that money into themselves? If something gets so bad that the US needs help, the entire world is going to be involved anyways.
NATO is just a sponge off the US Taxpayers dime
I think trump is keenly aware of all that.
The more we learn, the more I am convinced, the USA should leave NATO. There are so many warning signs that instead of being a mutual defense pact, NATO membership may become almost a guarntee of being involved in a major war that is against USA interests.
A great many people are relying on CIA disinformation over the years. Putin wasn’t the KGB “thug” that the CIA and media try to portray. He was basically an administrator and being in St. Petersburg, he had a positive attitude towards the West.
He came in during the Yeltsin time which ended up being a complete disaster. Corruption became rampant and American and Western companies joined in on the corruption. When Putin took over he instituted some drastic changes, especially with the oligarchs. He told them they could make money but stay out of politics, since they were the ones who were destroying Russia.
His reforms have improved the lives of average Russians and steady growth during his tenure. As we recall, during this period there wasn’t the animosity with the West. Bush’s looking into the soul and Hillary’s reset. People also talk about Russian elections. The Russian population aren’t like the US,, seemingly wanting change every four years. When that population votes it is more about satisfied with the way things are going. Essentially a right track / wrong track poll. That’s why his election results are so high where opposition parties are so low. They don’t want change for something they don’t know.
But one thing turned everything upside down, the Magnitsky affair, and Bill Browder. After Afghanistan Russia had a policy to give veterans preferential job prospects. Browder’s documentary filmmaker found out Browder was claiming veteran hires when that company was nothing more than an empty warehouse building. Browder did make millions from the Russian government. Browder’s company, Hermitage Capital, had a news item on their website that a particular woman went to the authorities about suspicious activity, of sorts. Browder later claimed he “hired the best lawyer”, Magnitsky, to uncover wrongdoing. It was revealed in Bill Browder’s testimony in US court that Magnitsky was not a hired lawyer but worked for Browder as an accountant. This is where Magnitsky got into some kind of trouble and was arrested. Browder’s claim that Russian police went after Magnitsky because of some corporate papers was found to be false.
It was after this that Browder, the con man that he is, went to the US Congress and had the Magnitsky act passed. He did the same with European countries. This is when the West started labeling Putin a thug and everything under the sun. Browder own documentary filmmaker found out everything Browder had claimed was full-fledged lies.
It’s been revealed from USAID that the mail goal was the promotion of deviant, depraved lifestyles, such as a “pride flag” atop the Aghan embassy. As Putin once said, if a country allows a society and its culture to be destroyed, the country’s destruction will follow. And he said he will not allow his country to be destroyed. I’ve heard some speak about his violation of “civil rights”, which was about the rights of the perverted class. He doesn’t go after those in their private life but if you attempt to promote or parade them in public you Will be arrested. It’s rather interesting that you don’t really see Anti-Semitism in Russia. It will be dealt with. But look across the Western countries and what do we see.
Maybe it’s time for the West to do a little self-reflection.
I agree…Russia hasn’t been a Communist nation in over 30 years, and Putin has been unfairly characterized by the west needing a whipping boy.
The reason is clear—Putin’s Russia and China have been the obstacles stopping the success of WEF, Soros, LGBTQ, Wokism, DEI, illegal immigration, anti-Christianity/pro Islam, anti-nationalism, a criminal revolving door, and the globalist agenda for one-world rule. Putin is probable less of a political thug and tyrant than Biden, Obama, Starmer, Trudeau, or Zelensky. I’m hoping Trump sees through it all, gets out of NATO, and makes nice with Russia…before Russia is forced to make nice with China.
Not to mention Russia actually tried to join NATO two times that I can remember, once during the Clinton years and once during Obama’s….both times they were rejected.
Russia has been pretty patient with NATO expansion, they bit their tongue in the 90s when countries joined and also during GW’s term when countries were added.
NATO is an antiquated feckless alliance that should be disbanded. NATO was meant to be reciprocal…does the US actually have to go to war if Montenegro gets attacked, come on.
Comments are closed.