Ex-U.S. Ambassador to USSR: Ukraine Crisis Stems Directly from Post-Cold War Push to Expand NATO

[Uncle Joe]

25. George W. Bush called for it on April 1st during the last year of his Presidency 2008 and then

shit started hitting the fan in Georgia.

April 2, 20086:00 AM ET

As NATO opens its summit Wednesday, leaders face decisions about countries far afield from NATO'S original membership: President Bush is calling for them to do more in Afghanistan, and to do more to bring in former Soviet states like Ukraine and Georgia. Russia doesn't like that idea, but President Bush says it should realize the Cold War is over.

He may be a lame duck president, unpopular in Europe for the war in Iraq, but he didn't seem to shy away from dealing with some of the most troublesome issues in the trans-Atlantic alliance. Speaking in an ornate bank in Romania's capital Bucharest, President Bush told NATO members that they should give ex-Soviet states Ukraine and Georgia a path toward membership. He argued that would help them consolidate democratic gains and cement their independence.

"NATO should welcome Georgia and Ukraine into the membership action plan, and NATO membership must remain open to all of Europe's democracies that seek it," the president said.

France has said it will not give a green light to Ukraine and Georgia because it would upset the balance of power between Europe and Russia. White House officials said only this could be a clarifying moment for NATO.


https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89300373

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On 16 April 2008, official ties between the Russian authorities and the separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia were sanctioned by an order of Russian president Vladimir Putin. The separatist-authored legislative documents and the separatist-accredited bodies were also recognised.[106] After a United Nations Security Council session on 23 April convened at Georgia's demand, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany stated in a declaration: "We call on the Russian Federation to revoke or not to implement its decision." However, this was labelled a "tall order" by Vitaly Churkin, Russian Ambassador to the UN.[107]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Georgian_War


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