Posted on 02/18/2022 7:42:23 PM PST by elpadre
In September 1993, Russian President Boris Yeltsin wrote a long letter to U.S. President Bill Clinton. The letter, addressed to "Dear Bill," began with a mention of the two leaders’ "candid exchange of opinions." And then Yeltsin let loose.
Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic were interested in joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which was a source of concern to the Russian president. Of course, Yeltsin noted, every country can decide for itself what alliance it would like to be a part of. But the Russian public, he continued, saw the eastern expansion of NATO as "as a sort of neo-isolation" of Russia, a factor, he insisted, that must be taken into account. Yeltsin also made a reference to the Two Plus Four Treaty pertaining to Germany’s reunification in 1990. "The spirit of the treaty," he wrote, "precludes the option of expanding the NATO zone into the East."
That letter marked the first time that Russia had accused the West of having broken its word. And despite the fact that the Americans rejected the accusation, a resolution to the conflict has never been found – a situation which has had far-reaching consequences stretching to the present-day. There is essentially no other historical issue that has poisoned relations between Moscow and the West as much in the last three decades as the disagreement over what, precisely, was agreed to in 1990.
"You Cheated Us Shamelessly"
In the years since Yeltsin sent his letter, NATO has accepted 14 countries in Eastern and Southeastern Europe into the alliance. And the Kremlin has complained of having been duped every step of the way. Just recently, current Russian President Vladimir Putin complained: "You cheated us shamelessly."
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
and more:
“..In doing so, the West didn’t break any treaties, but some participants were concerned nevertheless. Years later, Genscher said that the expansion was just fine from a formally legal point of view. But it was impossible to deny, he said, that it was counter to the spirit of the understandings reached in 1990....”
Obama 2.O is itching for a fight, since the plandemic is fizzling out.
“The spirit of the treaty, he wrote, precludes the option of expanding the NATO zone into the East.”
This Russian propaganda is nonsense. If the Russians wanted NATO expansion covered by the 2+4 treaty they should have added it to the treaty!
Either:
1) Russia didn’t care about it enough to add it to the treaty
2) Russia asked for it, but the west said no.
Either way no betrayal is possible.
No Russian ever called me deplorable.
Russians aren’t the ones calling Americans who don’t agree with their warped narratives domestic terrorists.
The ruling party made their bed. I don’t want anymore American sons dying to fill their pockets
The Soviet Union put missiles in Cuba, and we totally freaked out.
NATO tries to expand into Ukraine, Russia freaks out and we think they are over-reacting?
This is a double standard. The western powers are causing the problem here.
https://www.rt.com/news/549921-nato-expansion-russia-document/
Putin was right, Stoltenberg was wrong: NATO “brazenly deceived” Russia about expansion and a British document proves it
A newly discovered document from March 1991 shows US, UK, French, and German officials discussing a pledge made to Russia that NATO will not expand to Poland and beyond. Its publication by the German magazine Der Spiegel on Friday proves Moscow right and NATO wrong on the matter.
The minutes of a March 6, 1991 meeting in Bonn between political directors of the foreign ministries of the US, UK, France, and Germany contain multiple references to “2+4” talks on German unification in which the West made it “clear” to the Soviet Union that NATO will not expand past the eastern borders of Germany.
“We made it clear to the Soviet Union – in the 2+4 talks, as well as in other negotiations – that we do not intend to benefit from the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Eastern Europe,” the document quotes US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Canada Raymond Seitz.
“NATO should not expand to the east, either officially or unofficially,” Seitz added.
A British representative also mentions the existence of a “general agreement” that membership of NATO for eastern European countries is “unacceptable.”
“We had made it clear during the 2+4 negotiations that we would not extend NATO beyond the Elbe,” said West German diplomat Juergen Hrobog. “We could not therefore offer Poland and others membership in NATO.”
The minutes later clarified he was referring to the Oder River, the boundary between East Germany and Poland. Hrobog further noted that West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher had agreed with this position as well.
The document was found in the UK National Archives by Joshua Shifrinson, a political science professor at Boston University in the US. It had been marked “Secret” but was declassified at some point.
Shifrinson tweeted on Friday he was “honored” to work with Der Spiegel on the document showing that “Western diplomats believed they had indeed made a NATO non-enlargement pledge.”
We have several Biden state department hacks on every Ukraine-Russia thread. The little commies think a war with Russia is great behind their pet administration.
NATO didn’t try to expand into Ukraine. Ukraine expressed interest in joining. Big difference.
NATO already includes half a dozen countries with borders with Russia.
Cuba was a de facto member of the Warsaw Pact, 100 miles from Florida.
We aren’t putting nukes in Ukraine, even if they join NATO - they are nuke free since they gained independence. Nor in Poland, Estonia, Latvia, etc. Those countries just want security from the Russians who have already started grabbing territory, again.
This is simply Russian neo-imperialism.
Cheated Ukraine also. “Give up nukes and we will ensure your safety”. They should have kept a few big fatties.
Amen
Any “understandings” in 1990 were with the Soviet Union. Then the Soviet Union ceased to exist and the Russian people went on a ten year vodka bender that makes our opioid epidemic look mild. Russia is back on its feet again, but Russia promised to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence. Russia is not the Soviet Union and it is not in the USA’s interests to let them pretend.
Agreed. In addition Russia didn’t pay hunter Biden millions, expand NATO to all boarders and former Russian countries. We are on the wrong side here. Graft, power to get more graft.
There is no agreement between the US nor NATO.
Absurd.
And this is rich coming from the dirty Russian liars, who never honored one damn arms control treaty that they signed.
All Russia had to do was act responsibly, but when you enslave entire nations, people tend to run away and align against the enslaver.
And what did russia promise in return in this exchange?
Putin is wrong. First there is NO treaty. Second, Gorbachev himself admitted that the talks with Baker were about German unification, and that the agreement was non-German troops would not be stationed in the former east Germany.
One way or another the elites and dems will get the ww3 they’ve been craving for some time now.
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