Disinfo: NATO promised not to expand to the East

Summary

After the collapse of the Warsaw bloc, NATO made promises that they would not expand to the East. But this did not happen. And with all the expansion of NATO that took place, they brought the bloc closer to Russia’s borders.

Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the West encircling Russia via NATO. NATO Allies take decisions by consensus and these are recorded. There is no record of any such decision having been taken by NATO. Personal assurances from individual leaders cannot replace Alliance consensus and do not constitute formal NATO agreement. This promise was never made, as confirmed by Mikhail Gorbachev, then-president of the Soviet Union. Central and Eastern European countries began seeking NATO membership in the early 1990s. NATO actively sought to create a cooperative environment that was conducive to enlargement while simultaneously building special relations with Russia. NATO does not "expand" in the imperialistic sense described by pro-Kremlin media. Rather, it considers the applications of candidate countries who want to join the alliance based on their own national will. As such, NATO enlargement is not directed against Russia. NATO's "Open Door Policy" is based on Article 10 of the Alliance's founding document, the North Atlantic Treaty (1949). The Treaty states that NATO membership is open to any "European state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area". Every sovereign nation has the right to choose its own security arrangements. This is a fundamental principle of European security and one to which Russia has also subscribed. For similar cases, see here and here.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 176
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 04/12/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia
  • Keywords: West, EU/NATO enlargement, NATO
see more

Disinfo: Greta Thunberg declared war against white men

The “green madness” spanning the western world is already leading to serious economic repercussions. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Greta Thunberg are against the so-called “patriarchal system of oppression” and urge to refrain from having children. They also declare that it is the locals’ racism that makes migrants to commit crimes. If Ocasio-Cortez and Thunberg succeed in their environmental plans, the world will never be the same, and Russia and China are likely to remain the last islands of common sense. The flow of tourists from the European Union will go to Russia, because only in Russia (and in China, but we are closer) you can safely eat natural (rather than soy) meat and ride a gasoline car without being tormented by the conscience and the “ecological moral police” – the social network activists.

Disproof

No evidence given. This is a conspiracy about the West allegedly exploiting the environmental agenda and climate change topic. See earlier disinformation cases claiming that Greta Thunberg is a political tool, key targets for “green blows” will be Russia and China, that the climate mafia is exploiting Greta Thunberg to lower living standards, and that Greta Thunberg is a prophet of a new totalitarian wave equalling to radical Islam.

Disinfo: Netherlands MH17 hysteria demonstrates Dutch government complicity in the tragedy

The Dutch government, as a agent of the Euro-Atlantic establishment, has lost all links to the reality and is not even pretending that it cares about the human rights and the objective investigation; Representatives of the European elite involved in covering up the truth behind the MH17 crash are panicking because the mainstream ‘Russia is guilty’ narrative has collapsed. Dutch government tried to pay a bribe to Tsemakh for his loyality and participation in the MH17 farce by proposing him to move to the Netherlands. Under international law (as well as laws of a majority of the states), the concealment of facts related to the crime is a signal of complicity in the crime. The Dutch government, which is allegedly a neutral side in the MH17 case, is de-facto impeding the objective investigation of the tragedy.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Joint International Investigation and the downing of the flight MH17. The disinformation message appeared after the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service claimed that Russia willingly allowed Mr Tsemakh, a suspect in the MH17 case, to leave the Russian Federation and refused to execute the Dutch request for extradition. Read more here. Ukraine has also issued the warrant for Volodymyr Tsemakh. A special team, known as the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), was established to conduct the criminal investigation of the downing of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17. The JIT comprises officials from the Dutch Public Prosecution Service and the Dutch police, along with police and criminal justice authorities from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine. On the basis of the investigation conducted by the JIT the Dutch Public Persecution service will persecute 4 individuals for causing the crash of the MH17 and murdering of 289 persons on board. The JIT has launched an appeal for witnesses who might have more information about the persons involved in the downing of the MH17. Every witness who comes forward maybe offered a witness safety and protection program. If necessary the program can protect witness identities and may include the use of assumed identities and may include re-location and in some cases permanent re-settling in another country. Read more here. See previous disinformation cases: JIT investigators tried to bribe Volodymyr Tsemakh; The JIT investigation is not interested in truth; The Netherlands has not taken into account the evidence confirming Russia's innocence in the downing of the MH17, and others.

Disinfo: Members of the White Helmets were also members of terrorist groups

The White Helmets; founded and trained by James le Mesurier, a British secret agent and mercenary, who was killed in Turkey, most likely because his services were no longer needed. Their Head Office in the Netherlands is sponsored by the EU and US. Hollywood made an “awesome” documentary about these terrorists to brainwash Western media. Actually the members of the White Helmets all supported Al-Queda and Al-Nusra and were all members of these terrorists groups, still the West calls them “relief workers”.

Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the White Helmets. No evidence is given to substantiate the claim that they have connections to Al Qaeda and/ or other terrorist groups. The claim that the White Helmets are the creation of“Western intelligence” is unsubstantiated and constitutes a groundless conspiracy theory.