NATO has provided a comprehensive reply to what it says are “a series of accusations against NATO” “based on misrepresentations of the facts”. In a four-page document, its Public Diplomacy Division has set out NATO’s perspective on the issues raised by Russia in a number of statements made during the Ukraine crisis.
According to NATO, it never aimed to marginalise Russia internationally, instead “since the early 1990s the Alliance has consistently worked to build a cooperative relationship with
Russia on areas of mutual interest, and striven towards a strategic partnership.” To prove the point, the document cites several documents and events.
As for NATO’s continuation, the bloc defended the right to exist after the end of the Cold war and pursue enlargement policy. The military alliance also seeks to refute the claim that “US and German officials promised in 1990 that NATO would not expand into Eastern and Central Europe, build military infrastructure near Russia’s borders or permanently deploy troops there.”
According to NATO, no such pledge was made, and no evidence to back up Russia’s claims has ever been produced.”
This has been one of the strongest points made by Russian officials to substantiate their distrust of Western countries. There’ve been heaps of news pieces and academic articles on what one side claims to be a firm commitment and the other dispels as a myth.
In terms of missile defence, NATO claims it has sought cooperation with Russia, citing a declaration following the Lisbon Summit of 2010 and in the Chicago Summit in May 2012
The military bloc also defended its actions in Libya, which Russia said were a distortion of the UN Security Council resolution 1973.
The document also explains why the current Ukrainian authorities are legitimate and why Crimea’s independence was different from Kosovo. In its turn, NATO has accused Russia of “an unlawful use of force” in Crimea and of bypassing “the whole international community”.
Sources: http://www.nato.int
Author: Mikhail Vesely