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It doesn’t make sense to 21st century people. So-called Balance of Power Politics doesn’t make sense to the 21st century mindset—only to the 19th century mindse
by avgcorrection 3y ago
It doesn’t make sense to 21st century people. So-called Balance of Power Politics doesn’t make sense to the 21st century mindset—only to the 19th century mindset.
(In his 2015 lecture he contrasted 21st century people (the Washington Establishment) with 19th century people (people like himself and “the Chinese”).)
Basically the West including USA and some others promised that NATO would not “move one inch” eastward in return for German unification. That was under Gorbachev. That was only an oral agreement though and funnily enough Gorbachev now has denied that such an agreement was made… not that it matters that much, really.
- 0xDEF 3y agoAs a Danish guy who has been to both Ukraine and Eastern Germany I'm fine with undoing German unification and handing Eastern Germany to Russia and letting Ukraine into NATO.
- avgcorrection 3y agoWhy?
- TheLoafOfBread 3y ago> Basically the West including USA and some others promised that NATO would not “move one inch” eastward in return for German unification. Which is not true. https://hls.harvard.edu/today/there-was-no-promise-not-to-enlarge-nato/ https://hls.harvard.edu/today/there-was-no-promise-not-to-en...
- avgcorrection 3y agoSo Robert Zoellick claims. But the evidence is against him.[1] > Declassified documents show security assurances against NATO expansion to Soviet leaders from Baker, Bush, Genscher, Kohl, Gates, Mitterrand, Thatcher, Hurd, Major, and Woerner That list includes James Baker, his former boss. [1] https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017...
- TheLoafOfBread 3y agoAnd here you have Gorbachev himself, telling that nothing like that was ever said > M.G.: The topic of “NATO expansion” was not discussed at all, and it wasn’t brought up in those years. I say this with full responsibility. Not a singe Eastern European country https://www.rbth.com/international/2014/10/16/mikhail_gorbachev_i_am_against_all_walls_40673.html https://www.rbth.com/international/2014/10/16/mikhail_gorbac...
- lisasays 3y agoAnd yet, in that very same interview, Gorby says: The decision for the U.S. and its allies to expand NATO into the east was decisively made in 1993. I called this a big mistake from the very beginning. It was definitely a violation of the spirit of the statements and assurances made to us in 1990. I take his word over yours.
- TheLoafOfBread 3y agoHis words > M.G.: The topic of “NATO expansion” was not discussed at all, and it wasn’t brought up in those years. I say this with full responsibility. Which just confirms, that there was no such agreement.
- lisasays 3y agoWhich you've said already, multiple times. But what Gorby said above is much more important than the simple lack of a written agreement.
- chrysler 3y agoIt's not, if you consider his bio. He had a delusion that he could reform the USSR, make republics sign a new union treaty and maintain Russian dominance over Eastern Europe. Russia - leader, others - serfs who have only as much freedom as Moscow allows. Instead, Eastern Europe ditched the Russian empire of misery on the first opportunity and never looked back, and that's what he was so bitter about. He hoped that the West would prop up his crumbling colonial empire. When it comes to any clear assurances, even Gorbachev says NO. Is there anyone from the Soviet side who has actually confirmed it or is it pure western self-flaggelation?