DISINFO: NATO broke its promise not to advance Eastward
SUMMARY
After the collapse of the USSR, the North Atlantic Alliance promised not to advance the infrastructure to the East, but now NATO includes the Baltic countries, Poland and Romania.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about NATO enlargement.
This claim has been debunked numerous times. NATO did not promise not to expand into Eastern and Central Europe back in 1990, which was confirmed by the former president of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev. Back in 2014, Gorbachev said that “The topic of ‘NATO expansion was not discussed at all, and it wasn’t brought up in those years. I say this with full responsibility”.
Central and Eastern European countries began seeking NATO membership in the early 1990s. NATO actively sought to create a cooperative environment that was conducive to enlargement while simultaneously building special relations with Russia.
Furthermore, NATO does not "expand" in the imperialistic sense as described by pro-Kremlin media. Rather, it considers the applications of candidate countries who exercise their free choice of alliance affiliation and want to join the Alliance. NATO enlargement is not directed against Russia.