Vladimir Putin on War & Peace

Ukrainian entry into NATO is the brightest of all redlines

Among others, Biden's CIA director, William J. Burns, has been warning about the provocative effect of NATO expansion. In 2008, Burns, then the American ambassador to Moscow, wrote to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: "Ukrainian entry into NATO is the brightest of all redlines for the Russian elite (not just Putin). In more than two and a half years of conversations with key Russian players, I have yet to find anyone who views Ukraine in NATO as anything other than a direct challenge to Russian interests."

Admit no mistakes in Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea

The UK's former ambassador in Moscow said, "There is no sense Russia might have made a mistake by invading Ukraine. The report is fully in line with the sort of thing I would expect in 2016, and even more so now. There is a good deal of paranoia. They believe the US is responsible for everything. This view is deeply dug into the soul of Russia's leaders."

NATO expansion opposed across the Russian political spectrum

The NATO Alliance has indicated [that expansion] is open-ended. We strongly urge that the NATO expansion process be suspended while alternative actions are pursued. These include opening the economic and political doors of the European Union to Central and Eastern Europe, and supporting a cooperative NATO-Russian relationship.

Russia does not now pose a threat to its western neighbors. For this reason, we believe that NATO expansion is neither necessary nor desirable and that this ill-conceived policy should be put on hold.