Vladimir Putin had earlier claimed that Moscow had been “hoodwinked and brazenly deceived” by Western countries by promising that NATO would not expand “not one inch eastwards”. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, however, vehemently claimed that no one had made such promises to the USSR
It turns out that they did. Der Spiegel published an article stating that a secret document was discovered in the British National Archives by an American political scientist, Boston University professor Joshua Shifrinson.
It is clear from the document that Britain, the US, Germany and France agreed that membership of eastern European countries in NATO was “categorically unacceptable”
“We have made it clear to the Soviet Union – in the 2 plus 4 talks, as well as in other negotiations – that we do not intend to benefit from the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Eastern Europe… NATO must not expand eastwards, either formally or informally”, – Der Spiegel quoted the US official as saying.
Russia has opposed NATO’s eastward expansion, citing relevant promises from Western countries. “And they say to us: ‘Where is it written on a piece of paper? It’s not there? Well, fuck off, we don’t give a damn about your concerns,” the Russian president said.
In response, Jens Stoltenberg then said that the North Atlantic Alliance “never promised not to expand”. In an interview with the same Der Spiegel, he stated that “there has never been such a promise, there has never been such a backroom deal, it is simply absurd”. But now Der Spiegel publishes a document that says quite the opposite in black and white. NATO promised. And it has not kept its promise. And the way in which the West zealously and aggressively demands something from Russia makes one wonder why things are like this.