DISINFO: NATO forgot agreements not to expand Eastward
SUMMARY
NATO should no longer expand eastward. Russia needs written guarantees of this, because, as you know, the partners chose to forget all the verbal agreements.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about NATO.
There is no evidence that any Western leader ever gave assurances to former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev about NATO’s pledge not to admit new members. Gorbachev himself denied this claim in an interview in 2014:
“The topic of ‘NATO expansion’ was not discussed at all, and it wasn’t brought up in those years. I say this with full responsibility. Not a single Eastern European country raised the issue, not even after the Warsaw Pact ceased to exist in 1991.”
These so-called verbal agreements - did not exist. NATO members have never made any political or legally binding commitments not to extend the Alliance beyond the borders of a reunified Germany. Read more about the myths and realities of NATO enlargement.
Also, NATO does not "expand" in the imperialistic sense as described by pro-Kremlin media. Rather, it considers the applications of candidate countries who exercise their free choice of alliance affiliation and want to join the Alliance. NATO enlargement is not directed against Russia.
Read more similar claiming that NATO pledged not to expand eastwards; NATO forgot promises not to enlarge to the East, The West promised that NATO will not move eastward, It was agreed that NATO would never accept countries that border Russia, The US and Russia had an agreement that NATO wouldn't be enlarged.