Declassified documents reveal that in the early 1990s, top Western leaders including Bush, Baker, and Genscher, provided assurances to Soviet leader Gorbachev against NATO’s eastward expansion. During German unification talks in 1990, discussions extended beyond East Germany, suggesting that NATO expansion would not advance closer to Soviet borders. These documents confirm former CIA Director Robert Gates’s criticism that Gorbachev was “led to believe” no such expansion would occur.
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At the 1989 Malta summit, President Bush assured Gorbachev that there would be no exploitation of Eastern European revolutions to the Soviet disadvantage. By January 31, 1990, West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher publicly asserted that the unification process should not threaten Soviet security, advocating against NATO’s expansion eastward.
In a meeting on February 9, 1990, U.S. Secretary of State Baker echoed this, emphasizing “not one inch eastward.” The next day, West German Chancellor Kohl reaffirmed NATO should not broaden its scope. Furthermore, in July 1991, NATO Secretary-General Woerner reassured Russian officials against NATO expansion, highlighting a collaborative European community.
These insights not only elucidate the trust surrounding these assurances but also contextualize Soviet and Russian grievances about NATO’s later expansion.
