Washington, Feb 19 (UNI/Sputnik) Der Spiegel’s report of a secret 1991 document in which Western diplomats committed to never expand NATO eastward is decisive proof that the United States must acknowledge at once, CIA analyst Ray McGovern told Sputnik. Der Spiegel in the report said the document came from the British national archive. The discovery comes as US officials – including Secretary of State Antony Blinken – have repeatedly claimed that NATO has an “open door” policy. “If you ask me, there is no further proof needed,” McGovern told Sputnik. “If Blinken does not tell the truth about known, documented, historical facts, he cannot be trusted in anything.” Spiegel said the new document proves that Russian grievances with NATO are justified. One of Russia’s top demands in security negotiations with the US is that NATO agrees not to expand to the east and specifically promise that Ukraine will never join the alliance. McGovern explained that then-Secretary of State James Baker accepted the crucial formulation of the no expansion pledge from veteran German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. Not just once, but on three separate occasions, Baker expressed that same “not one inch eastward” formula with then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in February 1990, the former CIA analyst said. The document comes from the meeting of the political directors of the US, UK, French and German foreign ministries in Bonn on March 6, 1991. The diplomats discussed issues pertaining to the security of Poland and other Eastern European countries. They agreed that NATO’s expansion eastward was “unacceptable,” according to the report. US political scientist Joshua Shifrinson discovered the document, which was originally classified as “secret.”
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