Why is Russia against Eastward expansion of NATO?

Russia apprehensions for NATO

The creation of the NATO bloc in 1949 was perceived by the USSR as a threat to its own security. In 1954, at a meeting of foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France and the USSR in Berlin, Soviet representatives were assured that NATO was a purely defensive organization. In response to calls for cooperation, the USSR offered its member countries membership in the alliance. However, this initiative was rejected. In response, the Soviet Union formed in 1955 a military bloc of pro-Soviet states - the Warsaw Pact.

 

After the collapse of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact, NATO continued its activities. After 2000, Russia jointly with NATO conducted joint exercises and even peacekeeping operations.

But since August 22, 2008 - the Russian side has terminated cooperation with NATO. The reason for this was Russia's interference in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict and the activities of the NATO-Russia Council were suspended.The aggressive policy of NATO against Russia began to manifest itself with the approach of the NATO countries to the borders of Russia.

 

Since the first expansion, when Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic became members of the North Atlantic alliance, Washington and Brussels tried to convince Moscow that the expansion of the alliance does not pose any threat to Russia, and the Russian side, in turn, gives its arguments in the unacceptability of NATO expansion.

 

Despite Russia's objections, NATO has included not only the former member countries of the Warsaw Treaty, but also the Baltic republics in the alliance, but Washington and Brussels are now serious about inviting Ukraine and Georgia to the North Atlantic alliance.

 

Russia does not believe that NATO has changed its nature of a global military structure that is ready to solve many controversial issues of international politics by military means, including bypassing the UN and the Security Council. All recent large-scale military operations took place with the active participation of NATO member countries, although not all members of this organization were fully involved in them. It is about the bombing of Yugoslavia, the invasion of Iraq, the military operations in Afghanistan, the constant exaggeration of possible attacks on Iran, Syria and a number of other countries.

 

Expansion of the alliance to the East sharply violates the strategic balance in Europe in favor of the West, as it increases the aggregate power and resources of NATO in relation to Russia and even the CSTO. This allows the United States, which views NATO as its military instrument for fulfilling its geopolitical, economic and military objectives, selectively use the territories and infrastructure of certain NATO members at its discretion, depending on the task to be accomplished. Increasing both the resources and the potential of NATO as a result of its expansion and reaching it directly to the borders of Russia requires from Moscow serious countermeasures with the use of huge material resources.

 

An important argument of Russia against joining NATO, especially Georgia and Ukraine, is that both states have not yet taken place in the full sense of the word. Regional fragmentation, linguistic and cultural-religious disunity shake Ukraine since the formation of this state. The overwhelming majority of the population speaking Russian and wishing to have good-neighborly relations with Russia do not want to turn the border of Ukraine with Russia into the NATO-Russia border. In Russia, fear that the forced entry of this country into NATO will create a deep political and economic crisis in this country, a serious destabilization. And this inevitably entails the need for some kind of action on the part of Russia.

 

In Moscow, they closely follow the development of Western political rhetoric and actions towards Russia and can not help but notice that more and more Western media and political circles are criticizing Moscow, the leadership of Russia, who are accused of increasing authoritarian tendencies in domestic policy and the growth of allegedly neo-imperial sentiments in foreign policy. It is not by chance that, therefore, we have been hearing increasingly calls to hold Russia back on various forums in the West in recent years. Given all this, all the more, Russia views NATO expansion as a real threat to its security, as a powerful tool allowing the West to restrain the build-up of Russia's military-political and economic might.

By Tarun Kumar Pandey

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