RobFromTX
Well-known member
i'm glad you brought this up!
"No further NATO expansion toward Russia's border."
this was predicated upon Russia behaving themselves and not threatening the ex-soviet states, which they have done repeatedly since the agreement was made.
Q: What was to be the function of those newly independent countries?
A: A buffer between NATO and Russia.
they joined NATO because they were threatened. and perhaps they didn't like the idea of being used as a "buffer". meaning any future conflict would be conducted on their territories.
i'm sure you'll agree that, in retrospect, it all played out quite well for these ex-soviet states. for now, surely, having seen what putler's intent is, NATO is the only thing protecting them from a dictator.
NATO is a mutual protection society, not an aggressive foe. no NATO member state has ever threatened to invade Russia. it is not an "existential threat to Russia", instead it is a barrier to Russian aggression.
putler wants to "manage" the financial affairs of the former Soviet states to benefit Russia. to make them dependent on Russia for survival and therefore more likely to cooperate with Russian goals.
look no further than Belarus for an example. they are virtual economic slaves to Russia. most of the ex-soviet states are now turning their backs on Russia, with good reasons. even the non-NATO republics like Kazakhstan are aligning with the West.
Nato was expanding towards their border long before Putin came to power. Russia was behaving just fine until he came around