Russia Opposes or Promotes NATO?

By Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal

On April 2, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev criticized NATO's eastward expansion and the failure by Western powers to keep their promise not to deploy military bases near Russia's borders. Nobel Peace Prize winner Gorbachev is respected in the United States and Europe for his role in ending the Cold War, but criticized by some in Russia for the reforms that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ensuing chaos. Gorbachev said in an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper that Western Germany, the United States and other powers had pledged after Germany's reunification in 1990 that "NATO would not move a centimeter to the east." Gorbachev said the Americans had failed to fulfill the promise and the Germans had also turned a blind eye. Gorbachev calls the West a band of bluffers. "They probably rubbed their hands rejoicing at having played a trick on the Russians," the former Soviet leader told the paper, adding that this had led to Russia's disillusionment with post-Cold War relations with the West.

NATO has been on the extensive march to tae in all former Soviet block nations into the NATO’s fold ignoring Moscow’s opposition to it and also enlarged since 1999, admitting three ex-Soviet Baltic republics and four Communist-bloc states in Eastern Europe. The membership was more recently increased on Wednesday, when Albania and Croatia formally joined the alliance. The expansion has strained relations between the West and Russia, which is concerned by the new military bases emerging along its borders. Last December, European NATO members led by Germany blocked U.S.-backed bids by Ukraine and Georgia to join programs leading to membership in the military alliance, but the ex-Soviet states were told they would eventually be allowed to join.

After a somewhat calm nature of ties, both Washington and Moscow began cold rhetoric challenging each other’s security and criticized their economic goals. Former Russian president Putin tried both aggressive and cooling diplomacy with USA and NATO but the tensions remained, while Moscow’s relations with EU somewhat improved owing to the gas connections. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said recently there is a good chance Russia will not have to place Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad Region in response to the U.S. missile shield in Europe. "We had a talk on this issue with the U.S. president. At a minimum I can say that today the U.S. has a desire to listen to our argument. They are not trying to cut off [talks] and say that the decision has already been made," Medvedev said in a speech at the London School of Economics.

Russia has consistently opposed the missile shield as a threat to its national security and the president said last November that it would deploy Iskander-M missiles in the country's westernmost exclave of Kaliningrad, which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania, if the shield was put into operation. But Russia supports NATO terror war in Afghanistan and USA in Central Asia. NATO wants to use Russia in extension of Afghanistan terror efforts.

Earlier, Washington has agreed with Warsaw and Prague on plans to deploy 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic by 2013. Medvedev said that financing the missile defense system in its present form would be "a mistake" that would remain on the Bush administration's conscience, adding that both countries would make every effort "to find a way out of this difficult situation." The United States says the defenses are needed to deter possible strikes from "rogue states" such as Iran. Top Russian officials have repeatedly expressed their hope that President Obama will not follow through with the missile defense plans of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Former NAN leaders like India are terribly confused about Moscow’s position towards USA and NATO and keen to take advantage of the rifts, if there are, but Russia itself is focused on getting maximum advantage from USA and Europe by using its UNSC veto membership and on trade and security issues. These days they are trying to be in “good books” of USA, however for advancing their so-called national interests. One thing Russia hates is the way USA has been bullying the former communist state over its WTO entry.

All Russian leaders, from Gorbachev to Medvedev have taken similar, challenging posture with regard to NATO, convinced of the NATO’s slow aggression in the former East Europe threatening the integrity of Russia. Knowing the mood of the Kremlin, now the USA is even thinking of bringing in Russian into the NATO with veto, but still worried about the ultimate consequences of such an endeavor. After having failed to make NATO to dissolve itself as a military organization as that threatened Russian interests, Russia had offered two options to their USA either to dismantle NATO or incorporate Moscow into its ranks.

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Yours Sincerely,

DR. ABDUL RUFF Colachal

Columnist & Independent Researcher in World Affairs, The only Indian to have gone through entire India
South Asia.