Is Russia Really The Baddie?

[Fred Steeves]

So Putin delivers that speech in February 2007, and what does NATO turn around and say a year later at the Bucharest Summit in April of '08? Essentially the big "Fuck You" we do as we please:

1. NATO welcomes Ukraine’s and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO.  We agreed today that these countries will become members of NATO.  Both nations have made valuable contributions to Alliance operations.  We welcome the democratic reforms in Ukraine and Georgia and look forward to free and fair parliamentary elections in Georgia in May.  MAP is the next step for Ukraine and Georgia on their direct way to membership.  Today we make clear that we support these countries’ applications for MAP.  Therefore we will now begin a period of intensive engagement with both at a high political level to address the questions still outstanding pertaining to their MAP applications.  We have asked Foreign Ministers to make a first assessment of progress at their December 2008 meeting.  Foreign Ministers have the authority to decide on the MAP applications of Ukraine and Georgia.
   

NATO - Official text: Bucharest Summit Declaration issued by NATO Heads of State and Government (2008), 03-Apr.-2008

And away we go with Putin soon waking up one day, out of the blue, deciding he'll start things off with an "invasion" of Georgia. According to the western narrative machine.