"[D]id America and its allies then bungle the moment and behave in a way that made today’s confrontation with Russia all but inevitable? Put bluntly, did they cheat and humiliate Russia at its moment of weakness, thereby sowing the seeds of President Vladimir Putin’s revanchism?
"That is certainly the view of Mikhail Gorbachev. On the anniversary of the Wall’s demise, the man who did most to bury the Cold War delivered a speech in Berlin that seemed tinged with sorrow and bitterness. Europe is more “tense and fraught” today than at any time since the beginning of this century, declared Mr Gorbachev. “The world is on the brink of a new Cold War. Some are even saying that it’s already begun,” he said.
"As for why this had happened, Mr Gorbachev traced the “roots” back to the Nineties, when Western leaders supposedly took “advantage of Russia’s weakening to seek “domination in the world”. He offered a “shortlist” of examples, citing the “enlargement of Nato, Yugoslavia, particularly Kosovo, missile defence plans, Iraq, Libya, Syria”. All of this, added Mr Gorbachev, had served to transform a “blister” into a “bloody festering wound”.
"That is a striking phrase from a man of Mr Gorbachev’s stature. Unlike today’s occupant of the Kremlin, he cannot be accused of blinkered nationalism or obduracy. Moreover, Mr Gorbachev spoke with the resentment of someone who believes he was misled. In earlier interviews, he has accused the West – and specifically America and Germany – of breaking a deal they allegedly offered in 1990. In return for allowing a reunited Germany to be part of Nato, Mr Gorbachev says he was promised that the alliance would not expand one inch towards the East. Despite this, Nato proceeded to leap eastwards, enlarging its membership to include six previous members of the Warsaw Pact and three former Soviet republics." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11219858/A-new-Cold-War.html
I believe--I could be wrong, but I don't think so on this one--that this accusation goes beyond NATO's expansion beyond Germany, it INCLUDES a reunified Germany. In other words, I remember the accusation being that Gorbachev claimed Jim Baker represented to him that a reunified Germany would not be part of NATO.
"That is certainly the view of Mikhail Gorbachev. On the anniversary of the Wall’s demise, the man who did most to bury the Cold War delivered a speech in Berlin that seemed tinged with sorrow and bitterness. Europe is more “tense and fraught” today than at any time since the beginning of this century, declared Mr Gorbachev. “The world is on the brink of a new Cold War. Some are even saying that it’s already begun,” he said.
"As for why this had happened, Mr Gorbachev traced the “roots” back to the Nineties, when Western leaders supposedly took “advantage of Russia’s weakening to seek “domination in the world”. He offered a “shortlist” of examples, citing the “enlargement of Nato, Yugoslavia, particularly Kosovo, missile defence plans, Iraq, Libya, Syria”. All of this, added Mr Gorbachev, had served to transform a “blister” into a “bloody festering wound”.
"That is a striking phrase from a man of Mr Gorbachev’s stature. Unlike today’s occupant of the Kremlin, he cannot be accused of blinkered nationalism or obduracy. Moreover, Mr Gorbachev spoke with the resentment of someone who believes he was misled. In earlier interviews, he has accused the West – and specifically America and Germany – of breaking a deal they allegedly offered in 1990. In return for allowing a reunited Germany to be part of Nato, Mr Gorbachev says he was promised that the alliance would not expand one inch towards the East. Despite this, Nato proceeded to leap eastwards, enlarging its membership to include six previous members of the Warsaw Pact and three former Soviet republics." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11219858/A-new-Cold-War.html
I believe--I could be wrong, but I don't think so on this one--that this accusation goes beyond NATO's expansion beyond Germany, it INCLUDES a reunified Germany. In other words, I remember the accusation being that Gorbachev claimed Jim Baker represented to him that a reunified Germany would not be part of NATO.