Russian President Vladimir Putin © /Mikhail Klimentyev / Reuters
Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg: The Story Behind Putin's Mistrust of the West
A collection of declassified documents regarding a broken NATO promise explains a cornerstone of Putin's worldview.
In many ways, Russia's current defiant geopolitical stance can be traced to a decisive moment in recent history: the belief that the West broke its promises not to expand the North Atlantic Treaty Organization eastwards. But experts argue over what exactly was promised, NATO itself calls the story of the broken promise a "myth," and the former Soviet president, Mikhail Gorbachev, who is critical of NATO expansion, has said the West kept all its binding commitments following from the reunification of Germany.
Read more ....
Update: Newly Declassified Documents: Gorbachev Told NATO Wouldn't Move Past East German Border (Dave Majumdar, National Interest).
WNU Editor: There are many reasons why Putin does not trust the West .... broken Cold War promises and understandings is just a small part of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment