Changes

Today we must say once and for all: the Cold War is done with! We have entered a new stage of development. We understand that without a modern, sound and sustainable security architecture we will never be able to create an atmosphere of trust on the continent, and without that atmosphere of trust there can be no united Greater Europe! Today we must say that we renounce our stereotypes and ambitions and from now on will jointly work for the security of the people of Europe and the world as a whole.}}

Today we must say once and for all: the Cold War is done with! We have entered a new stage of development. We understand that without a modern, sound and sustainable security architecture we will never be able to create an atmosphere of trust on the continent, and without that atmosphere of trust there can be no united Greater Europe! Today we must say that we renounce our stereotypes and ambitions and from now on will jointly work for the security of the people of Europe and the world as a whole.}}

In 2004 the Baltic states - [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], and [[Estonia]] joined NATO, setting up another common border between the Russian Federation and a NATO state.  Three years later, at the Munich Security Conference, Putin declared, “We have the right to ask: against whom is this [NATO] expansion intended? And what happened to the assurances our western partners made after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact? Where are those declarations today? No one even remembers them.”<ref>https://aldeilis.net/english/putins-historical-speech-munich-conference-security-policy-2007/</ref>  In 2008 NATO said Ukraine and Georgia would become members.  Four other [[Eastern Europe]]an states joined NATO in 2009.

In 2004 the Baltic states - [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], and [[Estonia]] joined NATO, setting up another common border between the Russian Federation and a NATO state.  Three years later, at the Munich Security Conference, Putin declared, “We have the right to ask: against whom is this [NATO] expansion intended? And what happened to the assurances our western partners made after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact? Where are those declarations today? No one even remembers them.”<ref>https://aldeilis.net/english/putins-historical-speech-munich-conference-security-policy-2007/</ref>  In 2008 NATO said Ukraine and Georgia would become members.  Four other [[Eastern Europe]]an states joined NATO in 2009.

President Putin remarked in 2021, "As for NATO’s enlargement and the advancement of NATO infrastructure towards Russia’s borders, this is a matter of paramount significance as far as the security of Russians and Russia goes...I do not want to use harsh words, but they simply spat upon our interests."<ref>https://tass.com/politics/1300975</ref>  French Premier [[Emmanuel Macron]] said at the height of the crisis, "The geopolitical objective of Russia today is clearly not Ukraine but to clarify the rules of cohabitation with NATO and the EU."<ref>https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-russia-tensions-frances-macron-flies-to-moscow-to-meet-putin-in-high-risk-diplomatic-mission-12535079</ref>

President Putin remarked in 2021, "As for NATO’s enlargement and the advancement of NATO infrastructure towards Russia’s borders, this is a matter of paramount significance as far as the security of Russians and Russia goes...I do not want to use harsh words, but they simply spat upon our interests."<ref>https://tass.com/politics/1300975</ref>  French Premier [[Emmanuel Macron]] said at the height of the crisis, "The geopolitical objective of Russia today is clearly not Ukraine but to clarify the rules of cohabitation with NATO and the EU."<ref>https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-russia-tensions-frances-macron-flies-to-moscow-to-meet-putin-in-high-risk-diplomatic-mission-12535079</ref>