One of russia’s favorite propaganda claims is that NATO supposedly promised “not to expand.”
But there was no legally binding agreement, no written treaty, no signed commitment. The only thing that existed were a few informal discussions about German reunification – and even those referred only to East Germany, not to Eastern Europe as a whole.
In fact, the Helsinki Final Act (1975) and the Paris Charter (1990) – both signed by the USSR – affirmed that every country has the sovereign right to choose its own alliances. Poland, the Baltics, Romania, and others exercised that right: they applied for NATO membership because they feared russian imperialism, and history proved them right.
No country was forced into NATO; they willingly chose to join. Especially after witnessing russian aggression in multiple countries. Sweden had been neutral for centuries, but Putin himself convinced them to seek NATO protection.
So next time you hear someone repeat this propaganda, remember: it’s not about NATO “expanding eastward.” It’s about free nations running westward – away from Moscow. And if someone insists otherwise, ask them to show the document with a promise “not to expand.” They won’t find it.
Finally, russia attacked Ukraine not because it wanted to join NATO. Before 2014, polls consistently showed Ukrainians did not support membership. Ukraine was attacked because it was not in NATO. Had it been, Putin would have thought twice before invading.
Source: Volodymyr Kukharenko