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Exposing Russia’s alternative reality protects Europe

EXPERT COMMENT

Debunking Russian lies and disinformation can hold Vladimir Putin to account and is an essential component of any future dialogue on European security.

The drama now playing out on Ukraine’s border and in the meetings between the US, NATO, and Russia is, in reality, a giant exercise in disinformation, ever since the publication of Russia’s proposed treaty agreements – one with NATO and the other with the US.

These so-called ‘treaties’ essentially claim Ukraine is about to join NATO in the immediate future – but this is not about to happen, and Vladimir Putin knows it. The 1995 study on NATO enlargement makes it clear the existence of ongoing territorial disputes effectively rules out the possibility of an aspiring state joining NATO and – despite promises made to Ukraine at the Bucharest Summit in 2008 – this has not changed.

By annexing Crimea and supporting the separatists in Donbas, Russia has created conditions to make Ukraine’s accession to NATO all but impossible. And so by insisting on guarantees against further NATO enlargement – which his own actions are preventing – Putin is using classic disinformation tactics to justify the build-up of troops on Ukraine’s border.

Click here to continue reading the full version of this Expert Comment on the Chatham House website.

 

Channel website: https://www.chathamhouse.org/

Original article link: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/01/exposing-russias-alternative-reality-protects-europe

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