"Was Russia given specific promises that Nato would not enlarge? The answer in the archives is clear: some Western ministers did indeed give these assurances. Foremost among them was Hans-Dietrich Genscher, then German foreign minister."
"During a meeting with his Soviet counterpart, Eduard Shevardnadze, on February 4 1990, the recently declassified German record shows that Mr Genscher said: “We are aware that Nato membership for a unified Germany raises complicated questions. For us, however, one thing is certain: Nato will not expand to the east.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11219858/A-new-Cold-War.html
There you go, didn't read far enough into the article.
"The meaning of those words is indisputable.
Emboldened by previous vindication of my memory, I know that in fact those words ARE disputed. There was a lengthy article on this in one of the foreign policy journals, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, that I read months ago in which an American disputed this from the American records. I read that lengthy article pretty carefully and I did NOT find it convincing. That is, I believed after reading that article that this assurance WAS given by the Americans to Gorbachev.
"...[W]hat would have been Mr Gorbachev’s recommended policy for the West? Should America have told the restored states of Eastern Europe that Nato membership was off the cards because, above their heads, the big powers had decided that such a course would tread on Russia’s toes?"
Yes, in my view that is what America should have done: denied NATO membership to any former Warsaw Pact nation except Germany. Germany, in my view, was a special case for whom an exception should have been made that would not have created a precedent. West Germany was a NATO member since 1955. When the Berlin Wall fell, East and West Germany obviously were going to be reunited. The West could not possibly have continued with the West German NATO membership when the country was reunited and could not kick West Germany out of NATO once the country was unified.
"Mr Gorbachev did accept this logic in relation to a reunited Germany. In 1995, he explained that he had allowed the restored Germany to be in Nato because that was the will of its people. “The united Germany decided that it wanted to be a member,” he said, “and I had to accept that given reality.”
There you go. It's perfectly logical to me.
"If Germans had a right to decide to join Nato, then why not Poles and Czechs – or, for that matter, Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians?"
Dude, there is a "right" to join NATO? Are you drinking again? No, there is no right to join NATO and granting membership to the former East Germany as part of a reunified Germany would not have established a precedent for the "slippery slope" extension of NATO to Vilnius.
"Mr Gorbachev’s critique is clear, but it would carry more weight if the events of 2014 could somehow be overlooked. Rule number one of being a responsible nation, after all, is “never grab the territory of your neighbour”. Back in April, Russia seized over 10,000 square miles of Ukraine by annexing Crimea. Only last Friday, Russia sent 32 tanks escorted by artillery and infantry into eastern Ukraine, where Mr Putin has achieved de facto control over a swathe of his neighbour’s industrial heartland by sponsoring an armed rebellion."
"Today...[Putin] will not tolerate Ukraine turning West and seeking eventual membership of the European Union, even if that is what most of its people want."
THAT is the point! Jim Baker lying to Mikhail Gorbachev about NATO membership for Germany and the former Warsaw Pact countries does NOT mean that 25 years later Vladimir Putin gets to invade Ukraine to prevent Ukraine's NATO membership (which should not be extended). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11219858/A-new-Cold-War.html David Blair,you stopped drinking. Condolences.
"During a meeting with his Soviet counterpart, Eduard Shevardnadze, on February 4 1990, the recently declassified German record shows that Mr Genscher said: “We are aware that Nato membership for a unified Germany raises complicated questions. For us, however, one thing is certain: Nato will not expand to the east.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11219858/A-new-Cold-War.html
There you go, didn't read far enough into the article.
"The meaning of those words is indisputable.
Emboldened by previous vindication of my memory, I know that in fact those words ARE disputed. There was a lengthy article on this in one of the foreign policy journals, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, that I read months ago in which an American disputed this from the American records. I read that lengthy article pretty carefully and I did NOT find it convincing. That is, I believed after reading that article that this assurance WAS given by the Americans to Gorbachev.
"...[W]hat would have been Mr Gorbachev’s recommended policy for the West? Should America have told the restored states of Eastern Europe that Nato membership was off the cards because, above their heads, the big powers had decided that such a course would tread on Russia’s toes?"
Yes, in my view that is what America should have done: denied NATO membership to any former Warsaw Pact nation except Germany. Germany, in my view, was a special case for whom an exception should have been made that would not have created a precedent. West Germany was a NATO member since 1955. When the Berlin Wall fell, East and West Germany obviously were going to be reunited. The West could not possibly have continued with the West German NATO membership when the country was reunited and could not kick West Germany out of NATO once the country was unified.
"Mr Gorbachev did accept this logic in relation to a reunited Germany. In 1995, he explained that he had allowed the restored Germany to be in Nato because that was the will of its people. “The united Germany decided that it wanted to be a member,” he said, “and I had to accept that given reality.”
There you go. It's perfectly logical to me.
"If Germans had a right to decide to join Nato, then why not Poles and Czechs – or, for that matter, Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians?"
Dude, there is a "right" to join NATO? Are you drinking again? No, there is no right to join NATO and granting membership to the former East Germany as part of a reunified Germany would not have established a precedent for the "slippery slope" extension of NATO to Vilnius.
"Mr Gorbachev’s critique is clear, but it would carry more weight if the events of 2014 could somehow be overlooked. Rule number one of being a responsible nation, after all, is “never grab the territory of your neighbour”. Back in April, Russia seized over 10,000 square miles of Ukraine by annexing Crimea. Only last Friday, Russia sent 32 tanks escorted by artillery and infantry into eastern Ukraine, where Mr Putin has achieved de facto control over a swathe of his neighbour’s industrial heartland by sponsoring an armed rebellion."
"Today...[Putin] will not tolerate Ukraine turning West and seeking eventual membership of the European Union, even if that is what most of its people want."
THAT is the point! Jim Baker lying to Mikhail Gorbachev about NATO membership for Germany and the former Warsaw Pact countries does NOT mean that 25 years later Vladimir Putin gets to invade Ukraine to prevent Ukraine's NATO membership (which should not be extended). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11219858/A-new-Cold-War.html David Blair,you stopped drinking. Condolences.
