Russia must accept that NATO now has 32 member states, and returning the Alliance to its pre-1997 military structure is impossible. This was stated by Jim Stokes, senior expert in the GLOBSEC “Future of Security“ program and former director of NATO nuclear policy for the period 2023-2025.
“Russia must accept the reality: NATO now has 32 countries. Russia can continue to talk about it, and NATO can simply respond: “We took it into account“. We will not change," Stokes said in an interview with Ukrinform.
He commented on the possibility of the Alliance complying with the Kremlin's demands to return the military presence to the pre-1997 level. According to him, this is "absolutely impossible", since Finland and Sweden are among the new members, and a total of 16 countries have joined since the end of the Cold War.
There is no precedent for forced withdrawal
"They will not agree to leave the Alliance, and the other allies will not agree to simply let them leave. In NATO's 77-year history, this has never happened," Stokes said.
According to him, a separate question is whether NATO will accept new allies in the future. The decision to expand is made by consensus of all 32 member states, the expert recalled.
Stokes links the accession of Finland and Sweden to the change in perceptions of security in Europe. According to him, it was the Russian war that influenced the two countries to choose full membership in NATO, instead of remaining only partners of the Alliance.
„Russia itself turned the issue into a political one“
The expert said that a significant part of the responsibility for NATO expansion falls on Russia, although Moscow accuses the Alliance of moving closer to its borders.
„I understand that it does not like this. But in the late 90s and early 2000s, Russia had no problem with this. "She has turned the issue into a political one and now she will have to come to terms with it," Stokes said.His statement comes amid ongoing debates about the future security architecture in Europe and the possible terms surrounding the end of the war in Ukraine.
Sources: ukrinform.ua