Nato-Russia relations since 1991

For 45 years, an undeclared state of war existed between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations and the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, an uncertain peace existed between the NATO nations and the Soviet Union. The peace was uncertain because no knew what the volatile Boris Yeltsin, Russia's president, would do from one day to the next, and because the Russian military, under funded and demoralized as it was, remained a formidable threat.

In the mid-1990s, serious talk of NATO expansion to the east toward Russia's borders stirred a wide ranging debate as to the wisdom of such action. Some people in the West believed that the threat that would be perceived by the Russians would precipitate a major war. Other people though that the move in Russia toward democracy would be sidetracked by a new strongman who would return the country to a confrontational stance against NATO (Shlapentokh 70). Another base of opinion thought that NATO expansion eastward would lead to a resurrection of a strong alliance between Russia and China. Some people in both the West and Russia believed that any substantial expansion of NATO would weaken the effectiveness of the organization because widely diverse interests would paralyze NATO's decision-making process ("Russia Has Grounds to Support NATO's Expansion" 1). People who favored NATO's expansion to the east contended that such enla

. . .
n NATO and the Russian Federation, signed in Paris on 27 May 1997 (North Atlantic Treaty Organization 2). NATO stated that the agreement is an "expression of an enduring commitment, undertaken at the highest political level, to work together to build a lasting and inclusive peace in the Euro-Atlantic area. The Permanent Joint Council was set up under the Founding Act as a forum for consultation and cooperation, enabling NATO and the Russian Federation to embark on a substantial programme of security and defence-related cooperation activities. It represents a reciprocal commitment to help build a stable, secure and undivided continent on the basis of partnership and mutual interest" (North Atlantic Treaty Organization 2). It is difficult to know whether anyone actually believes any part of that statement. Politicians, however, are strange creatures who are seemingly able to persuade themselves of any statement, regardless of how outlandish it may be. Even as NATO spokespersons state, on the one hand, that the Permanent Joint Council (comprised of NATO and Russian representatives) "is an integral part of the framework for cooperation" between Russia and NATO, they state, on the other hand, that meetings are conducted "on the un
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
NATO Russia, Despite Ties, Gorokhov Gorovtsov, Warsaw Pact, Yeltsin Russia's, Treaty Organization, Retrieved Internet, NATO Expansion, Russia Events, Russia NATO, nato expansion, expansion nato, retrieved internet, retrieved internet 2002-12-10, internet 2002-12-10, eastward expansion, nato's eastward, nato's eastward expansion, atlantic treaty organization, warsaw pact, treaty organization, 1 retrieved internet, 1 retrieved, nato russia, north atlantic treaty,
Approximate Word count = 2077
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Nato-Russia relations since 1991