Well why single out Russia then? Since the end of WW2, which countries have invaded other countries the most? And what was the outcome of those invasions?
Get answers to these questions and you will know what I mean. All wars that have happened since WW2 are proxy wars. The west never learn the lesson after WW1 that humiliating a defeated country gives rise to characters like Hitler. After the fall of the USSR, if the west had put in an effort to mainstream Russia rather than make a scene out of it(remember that famous Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin press conference outside White House?) Even after that, Russia tried to guage the seriousness of the west (most notably NATO, because that is where the problem lies) to accommodate Russia. The Russians (Gorbachev himself had said this many times in interviews) that there was a promise from NATO to not expand eastwards because NATO was after all formed as a military alliance against Russia. Realising that is not going to happen, Russia used another track, of applying to NATO. The argument the Russians made was that if NATO is not an anti-Russian alliance then it should be allowed to join NATO too. This was the bonhomie period between Russia and the west(remember Putin being welcomed both at Downing Street by the UK prime minister and by the US President at his ranch?) In fact Russia was also very instrumental in providing logistical and intelligence support to NATO in the very early days of the "war on terror". Russia also expedited boundary resolution with some of its neighbours as that was one of the conditions put by NATO for Russia to be included in NATO. Having realised that NATO was not going to induct Russia, the Russians declared the now famous redline to NATO that it will not tolerate NATO missiles at its borders (the same way US did not tolerate USSR missiles in Cuba). Ukraine became a red flag for Russia because not only it would have bought NATO missiles to its doorsteps but it would have choked them in the black sea.
Watch Adam Curtis documentary on this subject and the background to this geopolitical chess game.
Having said all this, I am a believer in what Mahatma Gandhi said "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". But I am also a realist. I know that the world is not rational. As the US reacted to the Cuban missile crisis, Russia is reacting to the NATO expansion. And no one really cares about the "pawn states". That is why I will urge you to watch Naftali Bennett's podcast interview.
What surprises me is that had NATO expedited Russian inclusion into NATO, it would have to concentrate only on "containing" China. Now, not only has that pushed Russia into China's orbit, it has opened a two front "war" in Europe and Asia!
> The Russians (Gorbachev himself had said this many times in interviews) that there was a promise from NATO to not expand eastwards because NATO was after all formed as a military alliance against Russia.
This oft repeated lie by supporters of Russia is getting tired. Gorbachev himself said that there was no promise given to him by NATO except in east Germany, which was kept.
Get answers to these questions and you will know what I mean. All wars that have happened since WW2 are proxy wars. The west never learn the lesson after WW1 that humiliating a defeated country gives rise to characters like Hitler. After the fall of the USSR, if the west had put in an effort to mainstream Russia rather than make a scene out of it(remember that famous Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin press conference outside White House?) Even after that, Russia tried to guage the seriousness of the west (most notably NATO, because that is where the problem lies) to accommodate Russia. The Russians (Gorbachev himself had said this many times in interviews) that there was a promise from NATO to not expand eastwards because NATO was after all formed as a military alliance against Russia. Realising that is not going to happen, Russia used another track, of applying to NATO. The argument the Russians made was that if NATO is not an anti-Russian alliance then it should be allowed to join NATO too. This was the bonhomie period between Russia and the west(remember Putin being welcomed both at Downing Street by the UK prime minister and by the US President at his ranch?) In fact Russia was also very instrumental in providing logistical and intelligence support to NATO in the very early days of the "war on terror". Russia also expedited boundary resolution with some of its neighbours as that was one of the conditions put by NATO for Russia to be included in NATO. Having realised that NATO was not going to induct Russia, the Russians declared the now famous redline to NATO that it will not tolerate NATO missiles at its borders (the same way US did not tolerate USSR missiles in Cuba). Ukraine became a red flag for Russia because not only it would have bought NATO missiles to its doorsteps but it would have choked them in the black sea.
Watch Adam Curtis documentary on this subject and the background to this geopolitical chess game.
Having said all this, I am a believer in what Mahatma Gandhi said "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". But I am also a realist. I know that the world is not rational. As the US reacted to the Cuban missile crisis, Russia is reacting to the NATO expansion. And no one really cares about the "pawn states". That is why I will urge you to watch Naftali Bennett's podcast interview.
What surprises me is that had NATO expedited Russian inclusion into NATO, it would have to concentrate only on "containing" China. Now, not only has that pushed Russia into China's orbit, it has opened a two front "war" in Europe and Asia!