NATO no longer has restrictions on establishing strong positions on its eastern flank due to Russia's special operation in Ukraine, said the deputy secretary general of the alliance, Mircea Geoana.

“Now nothing limits us to secure a reliable position on the eastern flank and make sure that every square centimeter of NATO territory is protected by the Fifth article of the North Atlantic Treaty and our allies,” Joane quoted AFP.

According to him, this became possible due to the fact that the Russia-NATO Founding Act allegedly "lost all content."

At the same time, he placed the responsibility for this on the Russian side.

“They made a conscious choice, they committed themselves not to encroach on their neighbors - and now they are encroaching - and to hold regular consultations with NATO, which they do not.

Therefore, in my opinion, this fundamental act, in fact, does not work because of Russia,” Geoanė said.

Renunciation of the act


Recall that the Russia-NATO Founding Act was signed on May 27, 1997 and became the basis for bilateral relations between the North Atlantic Alliance and the Russian Federation.

This document provided for the establishment of a permanent mission of the Russian Federation to the alliance in Brussels, the creation of a military communications mission and a NATO information bureau in Moscow.

The central point of the document was the rejection of any form of confrontation - it indicated that NATO and Russia do not consider each other as adversaries.

According to the agreement, the parties expressed their intention to build fundamentally new relations and develop "on the basis of common interests, reciprocity and transparency, a strong, stable and long-term partnership."

  • US President Bill Clinton, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, French President Jacques Chirac, NATO Secretary General Javier Solana (left to right) pose for photographers near the Elysee Palace during the signing of the Russia-NATO Founding Act

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  • © Vladimir Rodionov

After the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine, a number of European politicians made statements in which they designated the act as no longer valid and not binding the countries of the alliance with any obligations.

So, the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, voiced a similar position at the end of March.

He also blamed Russia for its collapse and noted that NATO should stop mentioning it and form a new concept of security.

In turn, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in April, in her article for The Telegraph newspaper, said that the Russia-NATO act had passed, it was outdated, and the alliance should increase its presence on the eastern flank.

In early May, the head of the alliance's military committee, Robert Bauer, in an interview with the Financial Times, said that the provisions of the act would not interfere with the expansion of NATO's military presence in Eastern Europe.

Bauer added that the buildup of bloc forces in the region is aimed at strengthening the defense capability of the alliance.

Moscow's position

Despite statements by Western politicians about the futility of the Russia-NATO Founding Act, Moscow does not intend to withdraw from it.

This was stated on May 17, in particular, by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov.

“No, we will not give them such pleasure.

Let them continue these ridiculous and largely meaningless discussions among themselves, ”the diplomat emphasized on the air of the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

At the same time, Ryabkov noted that NATO, in principle, never respected the 1997 document.

“The West from the very beginning led the case to a dismissive attitude towards this document.

It was, in fact, initially a kind of fig leaf, covering up a completely different content of NATO's policy in the eastern - in the broad sense - direction, ”explained the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation.

In turn, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev said that Western countries are trying to declare the act invalid, as the circumstances that led to its signing have changed.

This contradicts the very essence of the document, Medvedev explained.

“The Russia-NATO Founding Act of May 27, 1997 is not a real international treaty that would be subject to ratification.

This is a political document,” wrote the deputy chairman of the Security Council in his Telegram channel.

Thus, NATO wants to legitimize all its actions that violate the provisions of the act, Dmitry Medvedev added.

“The consequences of this step are simple: you can drag nuclear weapons into the territory of new member countries (for example, Sweden and Finland), conduct provocative military exercises near our borders and do all sorts of nasty things.

They did this before, but at least there was this political declaration, which we referred to when we were dissatisfied with their rudeness, ”the politician emphasized.

No deterrent effect

The statement by the NATO Deputy Secretary General that the alliance no longer holds anything back from strengthening on the eastern flank is being made against the backdrop of the upcoming summit of the bloc in Madrid, where a new concept of the North Atlantic Alliance will be formed, Sergey Ermakov, a leading expert at the RISS Research Coordination Center, noted in a commentary to RT.

“This statement is expected, given that the summit of the alliance is already approaching, at which a new strategic concept will be adopted, the issue of expanding the bloc and building up its military potential will be considered,” the expert explained.

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Obviously, NATO is refusing to comply with the act, which recently turned 25 years old, Sergey Yermakov added.

“This act did nothing to deter NATO from eastward expansion, but under it the bloc did not so openly demonstrate its desire to contain Russia and play the role of a tool for ensuring US global leadership.

As soon as Russia declared that it had its own national interests and was not satisfied with such a world order built around the United States in the role of hegemon, the situation immediately began to change, ”the RT interlocutor emphasized.

At the same time, this document will no longer limit NATO's ambitions, but Russia's potential and capabilities in the military and other spheres, Sergey Yermakov added.

“Economic opportunities, stability of the Russian society, the state system and management, including the troops;

of course, military potential, technological capabilities - all this is the very deterrent, ”the political scientist emphasized.

NATO members did not draw rational conclusions from their policies, which led to the current situation around Ukraine, said Dmitry Yegorchenkov, director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, in an interview with RT.

“Instead of a constructive approach based primarily on mutual consideration of interests and the principle of security, NATO continues to work towards increasing confrontation, trying to ensure its own security at the expense of Russia's interests.

But in fact, they are provided at the expense of those countries that are not members of NATO and will never enter, including for reasons that depend on the organization itself, ”said the expert.

Recent events have shown where this approach leads, Dmitry Egorchenkov added.

“Certainly, this is a dead end approach.

The events of recent months show that it only leads to an increase in mutual tension, ”the political scientist emphasized.

The Russia-NATO Founding Act was the basis for dialogue between Moscow and the alliance, the RT interlocutor noted.

“In fact, we see that it did not have any deterrent effect, and NATO, as it expanded and strengthened in violation of the understandings and even agreements reached, continued to move in this direction.

Therefore, unfortunately, this act did not fulfill its function, but not through our fault, ”concluded Dmitry Egorchenkov.