A document has been found in the British National Archives that supports the Russian authorities' version that when Germany was unified, the Soviet Union was promised that NATO would not expand to the east, Der Spiegel reported.
The German publication Der Spiegel reported the discovery of an archival document, which, as the article says, reinforces the version of the Russian authorities that when Germany was unified, the Soviet Union was promised that NATO would not expand to the east.
The document was discovered in the British National Archives by the American political scientist, Boston University professor Joshua Shifrinson.Previously, it was stamped "Secret", but then it was declassified, the newspaper writes,Kommersantreports .
We are talking about the minutes of the meeting of the political directors of the foreign ministries of the United States, Great Britain, France and Germany, held in Bonn on March 6, 1991.The topic was security in Central and Eastern Europe.
According to Der Spiegel, the document makes it clear that the British, Americans, Germans and French agreed that Eastern European membership in NATO was "unacceptable."
“We made it clear at the 2 plus 4 negotiations (on the unification of Germany, with the participation of the FRG and the GDR, as well as the USA, USSR, Great Britain and France - approx. VIEW) that we are not expanding NATO beyond the Elbe (the text further specifies, that we are not talking about the Elbe, but about the Oder River - approx. VIEW).Therefore, we cannot offer Poland and the rest membership in NATO, ”the document cites the arguments of the political director of the German Foreign Ministry, Jurgen Chrobog.
According to Hrobog, this position was agreed with Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher.
U.S. Representative Raymond Seitz agreed in the document: “We made it clear to the Soviet Union – in the 2 plus 4 talks, as well as in other negotiations – that we did not intend to benefit from the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Eastern Europe ... NATO does not should expand to the east, neither formally nor informally.
The meeting participants agreed to strengthen the stability and security of Central and Eastern Europe through bilateral agreements with the countries of the region and within the framework of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).
Recall that in December last year, President Vladimir Putin said that the North Atlantic Alliance"cheated"Russia when he promised not to allow advances to the East in the 90s of the XX century.“Not one inch to the east, we were told in the 90s.So what?They cheated!Just blatantly deceived.Five waves of NATO expansion.And now you are welcome - in Romania now, in Poland, appropriate systems are appearing, ”Putin said.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken claimed that the West allegedly did not guarantee Moscow that NATO would not expand eastward.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, following a meeting of the foreign ministers of the countries of the bloc, said that the North Atlantic Alliance would not compromise with Russia on key security issues, including the right of countries to join.
