The Nato is not in Ukraine yet, not even close, and Crimea and East Russia is invaded by Putin. Keeping up the promise? In case you missed one detail, Nato membership is voluntary, unlike Warsaw pact was. It is up to two sides to agree upon this relationship. It is legal to join Nato. Invading another country is not.
Making an undemocratic coup abroad before that "invasion" is even less legal. This was the trigger.
Why Russia don't want to join Nato or EU, be a friend and a big helpful brother instead?
It is not true that Russia didn't want to join NATO.
First Yeltsin wanted to join NATO.
Here what US and Germany replied 1994:
"Mr. Ruhe asserted that Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia deserved to become members of NATO and the European Union because unlike Russia, "they belong to the European system and they were artificially separated from it.""
A very revealing quote if you ask me.
Later, also Putin wanted:
""Why not? Why not?" Putin said when asked by BBC interviewer David Frost about Russian membership. "I do not rule out such a possibility ... in the case that Russia's interests will be reckoned with, if it will be an equal partner. "
And yet with such resources and big population it is 3 trillion dollar economy. EU is 16, US 15, China 13, Japan 5, Germany 4. Russians considered themselves equal if not stronger than US. It must really hurt russian proud now, isn't it? On grounds of these hurt feelings, Putin was elected. He's job is to restore Russian pride.
So what? Russias economy is of the size of Italy, I know. Of course it is not the economy which attracts. To the contrary, it is the still relatively under-developed economy which is attractive.
What I'm saying is that the low debt, the huge saving and unexploited wealth is proving Russias S&P credit rating to be a farce. S&P were the ones who declared american junk mortgages as AAA premium quality, and stupid european banks bought them en masse, with the known consequences. So much for the "credibility" of ratings coming from Wall Street.
Now I tell you something, in case you believe I'm a Russian. I'm not, I'm a German, and as such I closely followed the development of German-Russian relations for a long time.
Before agent Merkel came to power in 2005, Russian-German relations where flourishing. Many initiatives came to existence, industry was (and still is) excited by the possibilities in Russia. Putin was actively inviting them, doing his best to provide stabile environment etc. This is attested by german industry and even the media back then. Ex-chancellor Schröder and Putin are still friends today. This cooperation was deliberately pro-western from Putin's perspective, and pro-Russian from European perspective. The aged and indebted economies of Western europe could enjoy decades of prosperity to come. Putin was extremely pro-European and even pro EU. He wanted to be like Peter the Great who tried to modernize and westernize Russia.
But then something happened: agent Merkel came to power. The new government of hers stopped these activities one-by-one, except the trades. Media about Russia was like exchanged. The trades have been stopped recently due to the Ukrainie events. 300000 jobs are threatened now in Germany because of the sanctions, and many are already gone. When Yanukovich agreed to the EU treaty in 2012, Merkel government suddenly refused and came-up with an ultimatum to free Timoshenko first. Why that? Then came Pussy Riot, LGBT. All fabricated nonsense to poison even the cultural approaches with Russia. People like Dugin in-turn got more influence, yet Dugin was expelled from his university, so Putin-government still seems to be not so Duginist. Putin repeated his Europe-cooperation offer several times, for instance in 2010 he proposed the Lissabon-Wladivostok space. Merkel changed the tracks from peaceful cooperation to confrontation. This confrontation will predictabley strenghten hard-liners on both sides.
I'm sorry that I do not intend to elaborate here in this forum why I think this happened, but some might still guess the idea.
To bad he doesn't know any other way but the KGB way, lie, deceive and bully around.
When will you finally stop repeating this nonsense all over again? It will not gain truth by repetition.
You better start with Soviet Union. Sins of Russia were not counseled with fall of Soviet Union. Nobody even heard "I'm sorry" to start a new friendship with". I guess in your school you were not taught about excesses of Soviet Union, therefore it should be brought to your attention that what was done still hurts many, but Russia is acting innocent and oblivious, and never faced the past.
Why should we start with Soviet Union now suddenly? No more Putin to blame?
Note that Russians suffered like other soviet peoples from soviet rule, and much more so than other east europeans, and the main wrongdoer was Stalin, an ethnic Georgian. Should Georgia apologize? I say no.
Then after Gorbachov came the Yeltsin era, with third-world-style poverty, ill-minded western "advisors", famine, financial collapse,... I think Russians already paid quite a price.
EDIT: Also note that Ukrainians should be thankful for the gift from Lenin who attached the previously russian Donbass to Ukraine republic. Also Crimea was a gift to Ukraine from soviet dictator Khrushchev. Ukraine is so big today because of Soviet policy. Now Ukraine wants to keep that land, but without it's people. Ukraine has something to excuse for in future.
This is all "balkanic" tit-for-tat reasoning leading to chaos.
Exactly what bully would say to a "friend". You still act surprised that countries act as Russophobes? Would you say to your wife or a friend "I could smash your face if I really wanted to, but I won't", and expect understanding and friendship?
For god sake, just join the world. Nobody wants to attack and conquer you. Don't be psychotic. Make friends.
You think I'm Russian? LOL, I think you'd better make a few more trips to Europe to learn other opinions dude.
