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That apologia might be more convincing if the word "NATO" appeared anywhere? Every time Putin speaks, he complains about NATO expansion into Ukraine and the res

That apologia might be more convincing if the word "NATO" appeared anywhere? Every time Putin speaks, he complains about NATO expansion into Ukraine and the resulting missiles pointed at his house from minutes away. http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/70565 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/70565

mopsi 4y ago
NATO is just an excuse, even die-hard Russian nationalists like Girkin don't take that seriously and openly mock his constant whining about NATO.
- jessaustin 4y ago
  Bullshit. You could replace Putin with any other Russian politician, and their opposition to encirclement by a pact motivated by opposition to Russia would remain. Care to cite anyone we've heard of and not because they murdered a bunch of air passengers?
  - mopsi 4y ago
    At the time, not even Putin himself opposed Eastern European countries joining NATO. A few days after further 7 countries in Eastern Europe officially became full members of NATO, Putin met with German Chancellor Schröder and raised no concerns, and even told the press that "every country can choose their security". The official statement from the Kremlin: > Russia has not expressed any fears for its own security over NATO expansion. However, said the President, Russia will design its defence policy with due account of the fact that NATO is moving closer to its borders. Modern threats cannot be removed by increasing the number of NATO member countries, the President noted. However, Russia’s relations with the North Atlantic alliance were developing in a positive way. The Russian head of state expressed hope that any issues that arose would be solved within the Russia-NATO Council. -- http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/30678 http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/30678 Not a word about being under threat by NATO, "reckless NATO expansion", "encirclement" or "broken promises", all of which were invented after Putin consolidated power and his policy shifted towards conquering the former Eastern Bloc countries to restore the lost empire.
    - yucky 4y ago
      Do you think the world has changed much in the 20 years since then?
      - mopsi 4y ago
        No. The security architecture of Europe remained the same until Russia started the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. No new signifcant NATO members, no significant troop or weapon deployments, no policy changes. Cold War stockpiles were dismantled to cut costs and NATO was so stagnant that French president Macron even called it braindead.
        yucky 4y ago
        Well that's the problem, you're wrong to think nothing has changed in 20 years. The world is a very different place. So your assumption is incorrect and that helps explain your position.
        mopsi 4y ago
        When you find yourself in a position where you have no arguments left other than calling names, you might want to consider that you are wrong.
        yucky 4y ago
        Alright, in the interests of educating I would point out that the US financed and fomented a coup in Ukraine in 2014 to install a pro-US government, which then lead to the Constitution of Ukraine being rewritten so that NATO membership was back on the board. That's a pretty big fucking change. Imagine Mexico or Canada suddenly having a pro-Chinese government installed and the CCCP forming a military alliance with them. You think the US might see that as a threat? Oh but this is different because the US can be trusted not to interfere abroad lol.. Meanwhile, the people in Crimea and the Donbass region being heavily Russian did not want any part of that CIA-backed Western interventionism that we've used to destroy vast parts of the world. Crimeans then voted to be annexed to Russia while Donetsk and Luhansk tried to break away as independent of Ukraine. The people in these regions DO NOT want to be a US puppet and that shouldn't be hard for us to understand considering our track record. Not that Russia's track record is much better, but at least they associate themselves with Russia. Better the devil you know as they say. So then the US-backed government in Kiev who has been at war with their own citizens in Donbass and killing them for 8 years decided to cut off the water to Crimea and run their reservoirs dry, leading up to the invasion last year. Remember this next time you hear our fucking talking heads on CNN & FOX News parrot the same "totally unprovoked invasion" talking point.

mopsi 4y ago

NATO is just an excuse, even die-hard Russian nationalists like Girkin don't take that seriously and openly mock his constant whining about NATO.

jessaustin 4y ago
Bullshit. You could replace Putin with any other Russian politician, and their opposition to encirclement by a pact motivated by opposition to Russia would remain. Care to cite anyone we've heard of and not because they murdered a bunch of air passengers?
- mopsi 4y ago
  At the time, not even Putin himself opposed Eastern European countries joining NATO. A few days after further 7 countries in Eastern Europe officially became full members of NATO, Putin met with German Chancellor Schröder and raised no concerns, and even told the press that "every country can choose their security". The official statement from the Kremlin: > Russia has not expressed any fears for its own security over NATO expansion. However, said the President, Russia will design its defence policy with due account of the fact that NATO is moving closer to its borders. Modern threats cannot be removed by increasing the number of NATO member countries, the President noted. However, Russia’s relations with the North Atlantic alliance were developing in a positive way. The Russian head of state expressed hope that any issues that arose would be solved within the Russia-NATO Council. -- http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/30678 http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/30678 Not a word about being under threat by NATO, "reckless NATO expansion", "encirclement" or "broken promises", all of which were invented after Putin consolidated power and his policy shifted towards conquering the former Eastern Bloc countries to restore the lost empire.
  - yucky 4y ago
    Do you think the world has changed much in the 20 years since then?
    - mopsi 4y ago
      No. The security architecture of Europe remained the same until Russia started the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. No new signifcant NATO members, no significant troop or weapon deployments, no policy changes. Cold War stockpiles were dismantled to cut costs and NATO was so stagnant that French president Macron even called it braindead.
      - yucky 4y ago
        Well that's the problem, you're wrong to think nothing has changed in 20 years. The world is a very different place. So your assumption is incorrect and that helps explain your position.
        mopsi 4y ago
        When you find yourself in a position where you have no arguments left other than calling names, you might want to consider that you are wrong.
        yucky 4y ago
        Alright, in the interests of educating I would point out that the US financed and fomented a coup in Ukraine in 2014 to install a pro-US government, which then lead to the Constitution of Ukraine being rewritten so that NATO membership was back on the board. That's a pretty big fucking change. Imagine Mexico or Canada suddenly having a pro-Chinese government installed and the CCCP forming a military alliance with them. You think the US might see that as a threat? Oh but this is different because the US can be trusted not to interfere abroad lol.. Meanwhile, the people in Crimea and the Donbass region being heavily Russian did not want any part of that CIA-backed Western interventionism that we've used to destroy vast parts of the world. Crimeans then voted to be annexed to Russia while Donetsk and Luhansk tried to break away as independent of Ukraine. The people in these regions DO NOT want to be a US puppet and that shouldn't be hard for us to understand considering our track record. Not that Russia's track record is much better, but at least they associate themselves with Russia. Better the devil you know as they say. So then the US-backed government in Kiev who has been at war with their own citizens in Donbass and killing them for 8 years decided to cut off the water to Crimea and run their reservoirs dry, leading up to the invasion last year. Remember this next time you hear our fucking talking heads on CNN & FOX News parrot the same "totally unprovoked invasion" talking point.