Times: Russia warned NATO in the 2000s that its expansion would be a mistake
The Times newspaper writes that the Russian Ministry of Defense warned NATO back in the early 2000s that the expansion of the alliance would be a major political mistake, in response to which Moscow will take action. The publication refers to classified documents published by the British National Archives Kew.
The published article says that in 2001, when British Prime Minister Tony Blair was visiting Moscow, the Russian president told him that he did not want to be considered an opponent of NATO. And then Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev told his NATO colleagues that expanding the alliance would be a "big mistake."
Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev told his NATO colleagues that further expansion of the alliance would be a major political mistake, in response to which Moscow "will take appropriate steps"
- the publication says.
At the end of last year, Russia invited the US and NATO to consider draft treaties on security guarantees. The documents ruled out the further expansion of NATO to the east and the entry of Ukraine into the alliance. It also provided for the rejection of any NATO military activity in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus.
On January 26, 2022, the United States and NATO gave Moscow written responses to security guarantees, which stated that Washington and the North Atlantic Alliance were not ready to abandon NATO expansion, however, they did not want a confrontation and agreed to discuss certain aspects of security with Moscow.
In particular, they discussed the non-deployment of Tomahawk cruise missiles in Romania and Poland, mutual obligations to limit the deployment of offensive forces in Ukraine, and other aspects. The West also stressed that it refrains from deploying nuclear weapons in Eastern Europe.
As a result, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that the country had received a refusal on important and essential issues for the life of the country.
Ранее сообщалосьthat starting the NMD in the early morning of February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin, of course, pursued global goals related to ensuring the security of our southern borders and minimizing the threats posed by Ukraine, rushing into NATO (more precisely, from NATO, rushing through Ukraine to our southern borders).
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