I remember my school experience in a physics lesson. A metal ball was passed through the ring. Then they held him over the spirit lamp, and he stopped passing through this obstacle, thus clearly demonstrating the validity of the law on the expansion of physical bodies when heated. Isn't it the same with NATO's eastward expansion? Who, why and how is fueling the North Atlantic Alliance today, when it is growing more and more in size and is approaching the borders of our country?
Initially, one of the prerequisites for the creation of NATO (the organization of the countries participating in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was the doctrine of "containment of the USSR" proclaimed in March 1947 by US President Harry Truman. The former allies were so impressed by the victorious march of the Red Army to Berlin that they hurried to rally so as not to fall under the influence of the communists under any circumstances. On April 4, 1949, in Washington, the foreign ministers of 12 states (Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Canada, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United States and France) signed the North Atlantic Treaty with the alleged noble goal of “strengthening stability and increasing prosperity in the North Atlantic region ". But if in his first message Truman spoke only of "the burden of constant responsibility for leading the world"which fell on the United States, and emphasized the need to "prove that the United States is determined to maintain its role as leader of all nations," then in January 1946 he openly called for the use of force in the interests of the struggle for this very world domination and so that it is she who was taken as the basis of relations with other countries.
Diplomats smoothed corners as best they could, realizing that the Soviet Union was not sitting idly by either. The nuclear potential of the Soviets forced them not to ask for trouble and in every possible way to emphasize the peaceful mission of NATO. Once Stalin could not even stand it and, in response to another remark of the French ambassador, caustically joked: "If it is so peaceful, then why don't we join?" It was in August 1952. And a little more than a year after the death of the leader, USSR Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov was already seriously suggesting that the North Atlantic Alliance prove its defensive nature in practice and accept the Soviet Union into the ranks of its members. The answer was predictable. In 1955, discussions on the USSR's entry into the alliance fell away on their own. West Germany joined NATO, and Moscow created its own military bloc, the Warsaw Pact.Since then, the North Atlantic Alliance has gone through seven stages of expansion.
Nevertheless, the thought of the merger of the two opposites, despite constant obstacles, did not leave the leaders of our country until the beginning of the 21st century.
In 1983, the idea of the USSR joining NATO was voiced at the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee by Secretary General Yuri Andropov.
It was crippled by the crash of a South Korean Boeing over Sakhalin.
US President Ronald Reagan declared the Soviet Union an "evil empire" and launched the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, starting another round of the arms race.
Another attempt at rapprochement was made by the new Russia.
In December 1991, Boris Yeltsin appealed to the alliance and declared his readiness to view our country's accession to it as a "long-term political goal." In 1997, the Permanent Joint Council (PCA) was established to allow Russia and NATO to conduct bilateral consultations. Further warming of relations was interrupted by the situation in Yugoslavia, the barbaric bombing of this country by the alliance and its dismemberment into a number of separate states.
And finally, the topic of Russia's accession to NATO on the basis of a full partnership was raised in 2000 by Vladimir Putin. The 9/11 attacks once again rallied recent adversaries for a short time. In 2002, the PCA was reorganized into the Russia-NATO Council. Permanent representatives of our country took direct part in the meetings of the members of the alliance and could express their opinions on the agenda, although without having the right to vote.
But the music of peaceful understanding did not last long. NATO's rapid eastward expansion and US plans to deploy missile defense systems in Europe have become a tangible threat to the security of the Russian Federation. It was clear that the West viewed it as a weak rival whose interests could be neglected. At the same time, the role of the leader in the alliance was played by the United States, which openly dictated its will to the participating countries. Vladimir Putin's Munich speech at a security conference on February 10, 2007 put an end to the world community's ideas about a unipolar world. The Russian leader made it clear that "Russia is a country with more than a thousand years of history and has almost always enjoyed the privilege of pursuing an independent foreign policy." “We are not going to change this tradition today,” the president said.The next 14 years have shown in practice what he meant.
A modern world-class army, supernovae weapons, a successful foreign policy of Russia in all directions - all this now makes the collective West and its military-political alliance reckon with our country, negotiate with it on equal terms and at the same time try to oppose it with their ever new and new militaristic plans. This is what prompted the President of the Russian Federation, during the reception of credentials from the ambassadors of 20 states of the world, to speak out on issues related to relations with the West. “In essence, legitimate Russian security concerns have been ignored. And now they continue to be ignored further, ”the Russian leader said. “NATO countries have assured in words that they will not move eastward, but they are doing the opposite. Now Moscow needs Western colleagues who have not fulfilled their oral obligations,namely legal, legal guarantees, ”he added.
The sensation of an approaching heating red line prompts Russia to increasingly check the combat readiness of its troops on the border. And this natural process of preserving one's own territory is perceived as whipping up tension. Against this background, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that he could turn to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin with a request to return nuclear weapons to Belarus if similar NATO systems are in Poland. That is, the heating process occurs naturally during expansion.
Maybe you shouldn't warm up the situation after all?
Because, according to physical laws, any expansion ends where the designated edges turn out to be stronger than the expanding physical body and do not let it go further.
If it doesn't explode, of course.
So let it be better in this case, new international, legally enshrined agreements will become a real mutual cooling factor for world peace.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.