I already had, and it clearly says:
I think there’s been a logical, methodical plan that goes back a very long way, at least to 2007 when he put the world, and certainly Europe, on notice that
Moscow would not accept the further expansion of NATO. And then within a year in 2008 NATO gave an open door to Georgia and Ukraine. It absolutely goes back to that juncture.
Back then I was a national intelligence officer, and the National Intelligence Council was analyzing what Russia was likely to do in response to the NATO
Open Door declaration. One of our assessments was that there was a real, genuine risk of some kind of preemptive Russian military action, not just confined to the annexation of Crimea, but some much larger action taken against Ukraine along with Georgia. And of course, four months after NATO’s Bucharest Summit, there was the invasion of Georgia. There wasn’t an invasion of Ukraine then because the Ukrainian government pulled back from seeking NATO membership.”
And you clearly say:
SWP's back said:
The illegal invasion of Ukraine has NOTHING to do with NATO.
Because you're not too bright are you flower.
What the fuck has it got to do with Russia that NATO expands? Do you ever hear Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, or Austria saying they “will not accept” more countries wanting to join NATO?
early 00s, the USA and UK were trying to forge friendly ties with Putin and were even discussing the possibility of Russia joining NATO themselves at one point.
Have you read the link to the open door declaration for Georgia and Ukraine from that article?
It says, “At the Bucharest Summit, NATO Allies welcomed Ukraine's and Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership and agreed that these countries will become members of NATO... Allies made clear that they support Georgia's and Ukraine's applications for MAP [Membership Action Plan]”
Georgia and Ukraine applied to join NATO. NATO have not been meddling in their elections, putting NATO puppets in power in their governments, have not bribed or forced or threatened these countries, have not even been the ones to open the discussions.
It’s what the people of Ukraine want.
Even ethnic Russians in the Donbas region aren’t happy with this invasion
Even Russians in Russia aren’t happy with this invasion
Police detained more than 2,000 people at anti-war protests held in 48 cities across Russia on Sunday, a protest monitoring group said, as people defied the authorities to show their anger over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
www.reuters.com
It’s not NATO’s fault that Russia are frightening their neighbours into wanting to join NATO. That’s solely Russia’s fault.
It’s not NATO’s fault that Russia are paranoid of having NATO on their borders. Especially when that argument doesn’t wash since NATO has bordered the Soviet Union or Russia since it’s inception:
During the Cold War, West Germany, Italy, and Norway bordered the USSR.
After the fall of USSR, Lithuania and Poland joined NATO which border Kaliningrad; and Latvia and Estonia joined NATO which border Russia proper.
NATO has existed and been expanding longer than modern Russia has existed, never mind how long Putin has been in power. Who is he to tell an alliance that’s existed for 51 years longer than he’s been in power that he doesn’t want countries to join them?
Plus if Russia is invading Ukraine - with Putin not even recognising Ukraine’s sovereignty, and thinks the Bolsheviks made up Ukraine and “robbed Russia” of the land where Ukraine stands - it will push Russia into having more borders with NATO. So why’s he moaning about NATO moving into having more borders with Russia?
It’s such a flimsy argument to say that it’s got anything to do with NATO that Russia have invaded. That’s the excuse they’re using for Russian imperialist expansion!
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/VHN26WGS2ZNMVDXECSSP3P6GPI.jpg)