NATO flag during exercises in LatviaMOSCOW, Feb. 2The territorial integrity of Ukraine and the protection of weak countries in Eastern Europe are not worth a war with Russia, said the American writer and politician, ex-presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan in a column on the LewRockwell portal. The publicist said that it makes no sense for the United States to fight with Russia for the sake of protecting Ukraine, and this is understood in the White House. However, he wondered why NATO continues to insist on an «open door policy» if it is not in Washington's interests. the borders have been completed,» Buchanan said. He recalled that NATO appeared in 1949 to prevent the land offensive of the Soviet army to the English Channel in case of war. Then the block consisted of 12 countries, of which only Norway had a common border with the USSR, and only Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were in the way of a possible attack by the Soviet troops. Before the end of the Cold War, four more states joined the organization — Greece, Turkey, Germany and Spain. However, after the collapse of the USSR and the Eastern Bloc, the alliance expanded to 30 members, approaching the Russian borders, although NATO achieved its goal of ending the existence of the Soviet Union. />Britain warned the West about a «spiral of humiliation and decline» because of UkraineBuchanan called clear the Kremlin's questions why the bloc continues to expand: is it for a war with Russia? The politician said that when military alliances accept new members, they take on new obligations , but at the same time receive benefits. However, he wondered what NATO won from the entry of the Baltic countries and why should the States fight for «tiny» Estonia if it is not ready to protect one of the largest countries in Europe — Ukraine. In addition, the author recalled the desire to join Georgia and Finland — countries sharing a common border with Russia. He explained that their membership in the bloc would require the allocation of resources to protect them and would only anger Moscow. NATO and limiting the number of countries we have to fight for to those that are vital to our security and that give added strength to the alliance,” Buchanan summed up. .jpg» />The Czech Republic called the condition for the collapse of NATO At the end of 2021, Russia published draft agreements with the United States and agreements with NATO on security guarantees. Moscow, in particular, demands from its Western partners legal guarantees of refraining from further expansion of the military bloc to the east, from joining Ukraine and from establishing bases in post-Soviet countries. The proposals also contain clauses on the non-deployment of strike weapons near the borders of Russia and the withdrawal of forces in Eastern Europe to the positions of 1997. On January 26, the United States and NATO sent to Moscow written responses to Russia's proposals on security guarantees. As President Vladimir Putin said, it is already clear from the document that the American side ignored fundamental Russian concerns. He recalled that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the alliance promised not to move its infrastructure to the east, but now the bloc includes the Baltic countries, Poland and Romania. The head of state urged to think about what NATO expansion could lead to. Moscow seeks to avoid an escalation of the situation, for this it is necessary to ensure the security of all interested parties — Russia, the European Union, and Ukraine, Putin stressed. Europe was afraid of the consequences of the imposition of sanctions against RussiaIn recent months, Western media increasingly began to appear reports of Moscow's preparations for an «invasion» of Ukraine. In Russia, such allegations have been refuted more than once. As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out, the armed forces are moving within the territory of the state — this does not threaten anyone and should not worry anyone. Moscow stressed that statements about «Russian aggression» are being used as a pretext for building up NATO contingents in the border regions. Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin called the stuff about the «invasion» malicious propaganda of the US State Department. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in turn, stressed that Russia has never threatened the Ukrainian people.
