Category Narratives

Countering disinformation on German reunification and NATO enlargement – Friends of Europe

NATO enlargement has been at the heart of several heated security debates. Pundits and scholars alike have conflated several 'promises' not to extend NATO eastward. Much of their arguments draw from the Baker-Gorbachev and Kohl-Gorbachev discussions of the early nineties.

There is only one little problem with this wonderful saga of so-called 'promises' - it's just that, a saga, not a fact. Here's what actually happened: there were two separate negotiations. One for German reunification in 1990 and a second, separate negotiation for the post-1991 opening of NATO. Conflating the two negotiations is an analytical mistake that leads to spurious conclusions.

Read MoreCountering disinformation on German reunification and NATO enlargement – Friends of Europe

Did NATO Promise Not to Enlarge? Gorbachev Says “No” | Brookings

It is abundantly evident that Russian President Vladimir Putin is no fan of NATO. Indeed, he displays a pronounced - almost obsessive - antipathy toward the Alliance. He claims that NATO took advantage of Russian weakness after the collapse of the Soviet Union to enlarge to its east, in violation of promises allegedly made to Moscow by Western leaders. But no such promises were made - a point now confirmed by someone who was definitely in a position to know: Mikhail Gorbachev, then president of the Soviet Union.

Read MoreDid NATO Promise Not to Enlarge? Gorbachev Says “No” | Brookings

Mikhail Gorbachev: I am against all walls – Russia Beyond

As the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall approached, Maxim Korshunov of RBTH sat down with Mikhail Gorbachev, the first and last president of the Soviet Union, to discuss the historic rapprochement between East and West and the prospects for a new Cold War.

Read MoreMikhail Gorbachev: I am against all walls – Russia Beyond