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M.E. Sarotte
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M.E. Sarotte
@e_sarotte
Available as audiobook, e-book, hardback, and paperback—NOT ONE INCH: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate. @SAISHopkins @EuropeAtHarvard
smile.amazon.com/Not-One-Inch-P…
Joined July 2019
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  • user avatar
    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    Dec 24, 2021
    “‘Not one inch to the East,’ they told us in the 90s. So what? They cheated, just brazenly tricked us!” — Putin during his Dec. 23, 2021 press conference. Following @PaulPoast’s fine example again, here is a teaching thread, a.k.a. #PoastPost
    Russian President Vladimir Putin attends his annual end-of-year news conference in Moscow, Russia, December 23, 2021. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
    Putin on NATO, Ukraine, gas, COVID and the Russian economy
    From reuters.com
  • user avatar
    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    Dec 24, 2021
    Replying to @e_sarotte
    The upshot: there was speculative discussion of a “not one inch eastward” pact in the course of 1990. But, in the end, Moscow created the exact opposite precedent: it signed a legally binding treaty allowing NATO to move east of the Cold War line.
  • user avatar
    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    Dec 24, 2021
    Replying to @e_sarotte
    But the leader in Moscow in 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev, told an interviewer in 2014 that the events described by Putin never happened. NATO expansion “was not discussed at all”...
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  • user avatar
    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    Jan 10, 2022
    Ahead of talks starting Jan. 10, Moscow insisted that NATO “not deploy military forces and weaponry on the territory of any of the other States in Europe in addition to the forces stationed on that territory as of 27 May 1997.” Why that date? A teaching thread. [THREAD]
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    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    Jan 11, 2022
    On Jan. 10, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov insisted that Ukraine “never, never, ever” join NATO. What is the history behind possible Ukrainian membership in NATO? That history goes back a LONG way… A historical thread. [THREAD]
    nytimes.com
    In Talks on Ukraine, U.S. and Russia Deadlock Over NATO Expansion (Published 2022)
    Both sides expressed some optimism after negotiations in Geneva, but did not break an impasse over Russia’s demand that Ukraine never become a member of NATO.
  • user avatar
    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    Dec 18, 2021
    Today Russia appears to have named its price for not launching the largest land invasion since World War II: Getting in writing two things it didn’t get in writing in the 1990s. Following the fine example of @ProfPaulPoast, a teaching... [THREAD]
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    Russia broadens security demands from West, seeking to curb U.S. and NATO influence on borders
    From washingtonpost.com
  • user avatar
    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    Dec 24, 2021
    Replying to @e_sarotte
    This means Gorbachev concedes in fall 1990 without formalizing a prohibition on NATO’s eastern movement—even though, by then, he understands that the issue of NATO’s future involves more than East Germany. Here’s an English translation of one of his notes from May 1990:
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  • user avatar
    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    May 3, 2022
    But remember, @zlj517, what changed between Feb. 9 and Sept. 12, 1990—the day Moscow signed (& later ratified) a treaty confirming the opposite: That NATO could extend Article 5 eastward across the old Cold War front line. Evidence here: x.com/e_sarotte/stat… @DrRadchenko
    user avatar
    Lijian Zhao 赵立坚
    @zlj517
    May 3, 2022
    “Not an inch of #NATO’s present military jurisdiction will spread in an eastern direction.” —Memorandum of conversation between Mikhail Gorbachev and James Baker in Moscow, 9 Feb 9 1990
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  • user avatar
    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    Dec 24, 2021
    Replying to @e_sarotte
    But here’s the crucial detail: that settlement expressly permits some NATO forces and weapons—albeit with extensive restrictions, and only after all Soviet troops withdraw—to move eastward across the Cold War line into eastern Germany.
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  • user avatar
    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    Dec 24, 2021
    Replying to @e_sarotte
    Here’s more from the same 2014 interview: Gorbachev, referring to himself in the third person, attempts to dictate to his interviewer what to write, in order to avoid a portrayal that makes him look naïve.
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  • user avatar
    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    Feb 27, 2022
    Berlin today. In the background, the Brandenburg Gate. Where, in 1989, the power of the people brought down the Berlin Wall—and tyrants. Be wary of what you have begun, Mr. Putin. amazon.com/Collapse-Accid… @AVindman @vermontgmg @McFaul @EuropeAtHarvard @dandrezner @RidT
    user avatar
    Ukraine verstehen
    @UkrVerstehen
    Feb 27, 2022
    Genau so und nicht anders, #Berlin! 💙💛 #b2702 #UkraineWillResist #StandWithUkraine #StopWarInUkraine #StopptdenKrieg
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  • user avatar
    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    Dec 24, 2021
    Replying to @e_sarotte
    Is there another way investigate what happened other than relying on the memories of participants interested in shaping coverage of their historical legacy? Yes, by using primary evidence—that is, sources produced at the time by participants.
  • user avatar
    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    Dec 24, 2021
    Replying to @e_sarotte
    That fight culminated in the 1997 battle that Moscow wants to revisit with the draft treaty it circulated Dec. 17…but that would take another thread to explain. In closing: @paulpoast, respect! These "Poast Posts" are a lot of work, and you’ve done a ton of great ones! [END]
  • user avatar
    M.E. Sarotte
    @e_sarotte
    Dec 24, 2021
    Replying to @e_sarotte
    Since Gorbachev was a direct participant in the events, if he says they didn’t happen, he must be right, correct? Case closed? No.
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