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The U.S. vowed to further reinforce NATO partners “on the eastern flank” if Russia continued to further invade Ukraine as NATO rejected Moscow’s demand to halt the alliance from taking on any new members.
Ned Price, the State Department spokesman, tweeted out the comments after reports emerged in the U.S. that Washington may be willing to scale back its forces in Eastern Europe to appease Moscow and reduce tensions in the region.
One of Russia’s main issues has been the expansion of NATO members in its own backyard. The Trends Journal published an article on 7 December titled, “KREMLIN BLAMES UKRAINE FOR STOKING TENSIONS AT BORDER,” that pointed to Russia’s insistence that it has no interest in war with Ukraine. But Moscow warned Western countries about what it sees as aggressive actions.
TRENDPOST: Long forgotten was the U.S. and NATO’S pledge not to expand into Eastern Europe following the deal made during the 1990 negotiations between the West and the Soviet Union over German unification.
Therefore, in the view of Russia, it is taking self-defense actions to protect itself from NATO’s eastward march.
As detailed in the Los Angeles Times back in May of 2016, while the U.S. and NATO deny that no such agreement was struck, “…hundreds of memos, meeting minutes and transcripts from U.S. archives indicate otherwise.” The article states:
“According to transcripts of meetings in Moscow on Feb. 9, then-Secretary of State James Baker suggested that in exchange for cooperation on Germany, U.S. could make ‘iron-clad guarantees’ that NATO would not expand ‘one inch eastward.’ Less than a week later, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to begin reunification talks. No formal deal was struck, but from all the evidence, the quid pro quo was clear: Gorbachev acceded to Germany’s western alignment and the U.S. would limit NATO’s expansion.”
Fast Forward
Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised concerns about weapons systems being placed near Russia’s borders. He claimed Tomahawk missiles could hit Moscow in minutes.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that Moscow would have no input in what state may or may not be able to join the security alliance. The Associated Press reported that the two went further and vowed a “forceful” response if there was an invasion of Kyiv. Blnken went further and said the U.S. has a “sacred obligation” to defend its allies.
“We’re prepared to respond forcefully to further Russian aggression, but a diplomatic solution is still possible and preferable if Russia chooses,” Blinken said. He continued, “Certainly part of (Putin’s) playbook is to put out a list of absolutely non-starter demands and then claim the other side is not engaging and then use that as somehow justification for aggressive action.”
The AP reported that under Article 10 of the 1949 Washington Treaty, NATO has the right to invite any willing European country into the fold.
Stoltenberg has made the distinction between a NATO partner and ally. Kyiv is a partner. NATO is compelled to only defend allies.
NATO countries are reportedly concerned about embracing Ukraine as an ally due to the possible confrontation with Russia.
Forget the Facts
The western media no longer reports on the U.S.-backed overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. Elected in 2010 to succeed Viktor Yushchenko, who was championed by the U.S. when it ostensibly launched the Orange Revolution in 2004 that put him in power, Ukraine’s Central Election Commission and international observers declared that the 2010 presidential election was legitimate and fairly conducted.
Enriching its military-industrial complex, the U.S. provided nearly $2 billion of taxpayer money to the country in the name of foreign aid and military assistance.
The WSJ reported that Russia wants Kyiv to implement a French and German-backed peace deal that calls for local elections in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, where there are 640,000 residents with Russian passports.
TRENDPOST: The Trends Journal has covered the tension in the region extensively. (See “U.S. VOWS UKRAINE SUPPORT,” “PUTIN PUTS PRESSURE ON UKRAINE,” and “BIDEN PLEDGES ‘UNWAVERING SUPPORT’ FOR UKRAINE.”)
TREND FORECAST: The U.S. will not go to war with Russia over Ukraine. The military in Ukraine is no match against the Russians, and its only hope for security in the future is to become a member of NATO, which Blinken did not indicate is any closer today than it was before Russians amassed at the border.
TRENDPOST: Completely absent in the American media reports of the current U.S. stand with Ukraine is the role Washington and Victoria Nuland played in the overthrow of its government in 2014.
A report from 2014 in the Trends Journal laid out the political maneuvers at the time in Ukraine: “Washington’s coup in Ukraine brought not only a threat to the Russian population in Ukraine but also a direct strategic threat to Russia itself.”
Nuland, who speaks Russian and French, boasted that Washington had invested $5 billion in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Ukraine.
Allegedly, the purpose of NGOs is to “teach democracy.” Ukraine, however, already had a democracy. In reality, the NGO organizations are U.S. fifth columns that can be used to organize protests and to provide support for Washington’s candidates for the Ukraine government.
Indeed, in early February 2014, a recording was leaked of Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, Victoria Nuland, telling Geoffrey Pyatt, the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, that the UN was on board to “help glue” the plan to replace Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych with Arxeniy Yatsenyuk. “Yats is the guy,” Nuland informed Pyatt, urging her to move quickly because “the Russians will be working behind the scenes to torpedo” the deal.
“F#&* the EU!” Nuland told Pyatt. “Exactly,” he responded.
Shortly thereafter, Yanukovych was overthrown and “Yats” became president.