Former adviser to the President of the United States on national security called NATO's worst mistakes in relation to the Russian Federation
Photo: Serg Glovny / globallookpress.com
One of the worst mistakes NATO has made in the history of relations with modern Russia has been its inability to define clear boundaries for expansion. Former national security adviser to former US President Donald Trump John Bolton wrote about this in a column for 19fortyfive.
He explained that the alliance too quickly rushed to include the former Soviet republics in its orbit, although the boundaries of expansion had to be determined first. “In fact, we have created a 'gray zone' – places where ambiguity persists [regarding the possibilities of expansion], and now Russia is taking advantage of it. Today we and the countries of the “gray zone”, for example, Ukraine, are paying the price, ”Bolton added.
Another mistake, named by the ex-adviser, is the failure of NATO and the EU to work together. According to Bolton, the European Union has too much self-image: for example, in the unification they ascribe to themselves merits in the peaceful settlement of conflicts during the Cold War, although they were resolved thanks to NATO. Because of this, the actions of the alliance and the EU are out of sync, they cannot act against Russia as a united front, Bolton complained. At the same time, Moscow does not experience such difficulties and successfully cooperates with such players as China.
At the same time, earlier Bolton said that Washington and Moscow, on the contrary, can find common points of contact on Beijing, since Russia risks becoming an appendage of China.
