NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has denied accusations made by Russian leaders against the Alliance and called on Moscow to "stop blaming others for its own actions" and "start rebuilding trust," reads an article published on NATO's Web site on April 13. At the beginning of the article, Rasmussen writes that his first speech as NATO Secretary General in 2009 was called "NATO and Russia: A New Beginning" and his aim was to develop a true strategic partnership with Russia.
“Through the years, we made significant progress, working together on
areas such as counter-terrorism, counter-piracy and security in
Afghanistan. But Russia’s annexation of Crimea ended that new beginning,
and undermined the very basis of the partnership we had built with such
great efforts,” the article reads.
“Today, Russia is speaking and behaving not as a partner, but as an adversary,” Rasmussen writes.
He says that “while tens of thousands of combat-ready Russian troops
stand poised on Ukraine’s border, Russia is also waging a propaganda war
the like of which we have not seen since the end of the Cold War. Its
purpose is to pervert the truth, divert attention from Russia’s illegal
actions, and subvert the authorities in Ukraine.”
Rasmussen denies the accusations made by the Russian leaders against
the Alliance. “In recent weeks, Russian officials have accused NATO of
breaking its promises, interfering in Ukraine’s internal affairs, and
escalating the crisis. It is time to see these claims for what they are:
a smokescreen designed to cover up Russia’s own broken promises,
interference and escalation,” the article reads.
Rasmussen highlighted each of the accusations in detail.
“Russia accuses NATO of breaking a 1990 promise that it would never
expand into Central and Eastern Europe. At different times, Russian
leaders have attributed the promise to private statements by Germany’s
former Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich
Genscher, and then-U.S. Secretary of State James Baker,” reads the
article. “But in 1990, the only discussion was about the reunification
of Germany. NATO enlargement was not on the agenda, as the Warsaw Pact
only dissolved a year later. Moreover, any such pledge would have had to
lead to a change of NATO’s founding treaty made by consensus of all
Allies.”
“The reality is that no such pledge was ever made, and Russia’s
leaders have failed to produce a single document to back up this
oft-repeated claim. Since it was founded, NATO has embraced sovereign
states who made their free choice to join the Alliance. That is the
spirit of democracy,” Rasmussen says.
“Over the past seventy years, Russia has repeatedly promised to
respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political
independence of all states. It did so, for example, when it signed the
United Nations Charter of 1945, the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and the
NATO-Russia Founding Act of 1997,” he says.
“Russia is now violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity by occupying
Crimea, and violating Ukraine’s sovereignty by trying to impose a
federal system. Russia has broken its word. It has done damage to its
reputation that will take years to heal. Blaming NATO will not make that
better; it will make it worse,” he adds.
“Russia has repeatedly tried to define, even dictate, Ukraine’s
course. Top officials have demanded that the constitution be rewritten
to create a federal state. They have demanded that Ukraine declare
itself neutral, to safeguard Russia’s security. This contradicts one of
the fundamental principles of Euro-Atlantic security: that each state is
free to choose its own alliances. The Soviet Union accepted that
principle when it signed the Helsinki Accords in 1975; Russia inherited
the obligation,” Rasmussen writes.
“Only Ukraine can decide what is best for Ukraine – in full respect
for all the people of Ukraine, whatever language they speak. Other
countries may help to facilitate dialogue, but they cannot decide on
Ukraine’s behalf,” he says.
“If Russia is sincere about a dialogue, the first step should be to
pull back the tens of thousands of troops it has deployed on Ukraine’s
border without any justification. Otherwise, any talks would not be a
dialogue, but diktat,” he says.
Denying the accusations by Russia against NATO of the escalation of
the crisis by moving military forces to Central and Eastern Europe and
citing Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov, who wrote that ‘de-escalation
starts with rhetoric,’ Rasmussen writes: “The reality is that actions
speak louder than words: escalation and de-escalation both start on the
ground. Since the crisis began, Russia has occupied Crimea with
thousands of troops and staged a rigged referendum. That is clearly
escalation.”
NATO has offered to support the Ukrainian government’s defense
reforms and boost the transparency and democratic control of the armed
forces. “That is clearly not escalation,” Rasmussen adds.
“Russia has moved some 40,000 troops to Ukraine’s border, backed up
by tanks, fighters, artillery and attack helicopters: escalation. NATO
has launched AWACS radar aircraft flights over Poland and Romania and
sent six extra aircraft to the Baltic States to protect Allied airspace:
not escalation,” he writes.
“The Russian propaganda against NATO and the West is nothing but
smokescreen to cover up its own illegal actions. Dispel the smokescreen,
and the truth on the ground is clear: Russia has annexed Crimea at the
barrel of a gun, in breach of all its international commitments. Russia
is now isolated in the world, its international credibility in tatters.
This is not in Russia’s interest. Russia faces a choice: to stop blaming
others for its own actions, pull back its troops, step back into line
with its international obligations and start rebuilding trust.
Otherwise, Russia will only face deeper international isolation. That is
in nobody’s interest, and will make our world only more dangerous and
unpredictable,” the article reads.
“I call on Russia to de-escalate. There are concrete steps to be taken,” Rasmussen writes.
