DISINFO: Western countries promised Soviet President Gorbachev in 1990 not to expand NATO eastward
SUMMARY
Western countries promised Soviet President Gorbachev in 1990 not to expand NATO eastward but then ignored those promises.
RESPONSE
Very frequent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on NATO enlargement.
As explained by the DFRLab, both statements have been debunked numerous times. NATO did not make any promises 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:
"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."
Furthermore, the claim about NATO "expansion" misrepresents the process of NATO enlargement. NATO does not "expand" but considers the applications of candidate countries that want to join.
Read also related stories: NATO forgot promises not to enlarge to the East, The West promised that NATO will not move eastward, It was agreed that NATO would never accept countries that border Russia, The US and Russia had an agreement that NATO wouldn't be enlarged.