Broken promise: an American historian of NATO expansion to the East

The fall of the Berlin wall on 9 November 1989 was a landmark moment, marking the point of no return to the cold war, but followed a year later, the reunification of Germany has created many years of bitter dispute between Russia And the West, did not end until the present moment, says Professor of history at the University of southern California And Harvard University Mary Alice Sarotte (Mary Elise Sarotte). Her publication " Broken promise?" publishes printed illustrated edition.

Creator recalls: Russian employees of the foreign Ministry periodically declare that some time ago the Washington promised in exchange for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from East Germany not to resort to further expansion of the North Atlantic Commonwealth to the East. Then broke that promise when in 3 divided doses added in NATO 12 countries of Eastern Europe. On its part, the American politicians And analysts say that such promises had never existed. The aim of his research work the Creator has set the task to determine who's right in this protracted dispute. Especially because, as she writes, now became available to the majority of previously classified documents 1989-1990 years that have the ability to shed new light on this debate.

" The data demonstrate that, while common in the U.S. capital vision, the future of NATO not only in East Germany, but also in Eastern Europe occurred shortly After the fall of the Berlin wall. And in February 1990 U.S. officials, working in close cooperation with Western European leaders hinted Moscow during the negotiations that the Alliance will not expand even on the Eastern half preparing for the unification of Germany, " writes Professor Sarotte.

in Her expressions, USA using Western Germany put pressure on Mikhail Gorbachev, convincing him not to obstruct the process of combining 2 Germanium. While he was not given any written promises about future development of the Commonwealth. However, hints about this transaction has the opportunity to be signed, was done non-stop.

Mary-Alice Sarotte describes the details of the negotiations And discussions. The question of the illegality of the NATO expansion to the East, she says, was discussed seriously. It was said not only about that, so as not to become part of the Commonwealth member States of the former Warsaw Pact (for example, Hungary), but, for example, even about the fact that the Eastern part of Germany After joining the West will not become a member of NATO, although Germany at the beginning was a member of the Commonwealth.
Participants in these negotiations, writes Sarotte were the head of the United States George W. Bush, Secretary of state of the United States James Baker, Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl, the West German foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher And the head of the British foreign office Douglas Hurd.

According to the Professor, a significant role in taking consent Gorbachev on the unification of Germany played the fact that the USSR has received a significant economic preferences - for example, a four-year grace period for withdrawal of Soviet troops And weapons from Eastern Germany, 12 billion German marks for the construction of housing for soldiers returning to the Soviet Union, And another 3 billion interest-free loan. However, he never received any formal guarantees given him oral promises. Only some of the comments made by the pen on the fields discussed documents, have the opportunity to serve as proof that promises to refrain from NATO expansion to the East And the truth sounded then.

The USSR has fulfilled its obligations. Troops And weapons were withdrawn from Eastern Europe. Germany was reunited. Several years passed, And NATO closer to Russia's borders.

" in the last month of summer 1990 invasion of Saddam Hussein in Kuwait very quickly changed the foreign policy priorities of the US capital And its relation to Europe. In 1992, Bush was defeated presidential election bill Clinton And his staff had to vacate their offices earlier than they expected. The new administration began, not knowing or literally knowing nothing about the details of the consensus of the US capital from Moscow regarding NATO, " writes Mary-Alice Sarotte.

Professor Sarotte quoted phrase from the memoirs of James Baker: " Almost every achievement, every success contains the seeds of future problems." The end of the " cold war " Russian Federation left on the margins of Europe. And yesterday's, today's events - the conflict with Georgia, the Ukrainian crisis is a movement on the way back she lost positions, she supposes.

" Russia can act so ", says the Creator.


sections: Politics