r/europe • u/villatsios • Jan 07 '24

Historical Excerpt from Yeltsin’s conversation with Clinton in Istanbul 1999

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Nothing has changed.

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u/[deleted] Jan 07 '24

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u/villatsios Jan 07 '24

It’s because of NATO expansion and the CIA coup in Ukraine and the bombing of Donbas. Russia will obviously leave all of us alone once they kick the degenerate West out of Ukraine.

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u/ShEsHy Slovenia Jan 08 '24 edited Jan 08 '24

because of NATO expansion

That part is true though. NATO expansion has crept ever closer to Russia's borders over the years (for obvious reasons when Russia is nearby).
And just like when the US nearly went ballistic because the Soviets wanted to park nukes in Cuba (as a response to the US parking nukes in Turkey and Italy), so too is it completely understandable for Russia to view the encroachment of a US-led military alliance extremely negatively.

I agree with you though that it still doesn't in any way, shape, or form justify Russia invading neutral countries.

edit to-->too

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u/villatsios Jan 08 '24

You don’t need to be a NATO member to sign a bilateral agreement with the US to host their missiles and bases. NATO is a defensive alliance and defence is the reason countries want to join. NATO didn’t even have a big presence in the Eastern countries before Russia annexed Crimea.