Archive | 25 years ago, we thought we were burying the cold war between NATO and Russia

< p class="sc-v64krj-0 knjbxw">On May 27, 1997, the 19 NATO countries signed the Founding Act of Cooperation with Russia, which was to put an end to the Cold War.

On May 27, 1997, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and Russia signed an agreement intended to bury the Cold War. Were there any illusions about the possibilities of peace already at that time? Reports provide us with food for thought on this issue.

“Today we are building peace. »

— Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic

Report by journalist Jean-François Bélanger on the Founding Act by NATO members and Russia in Paris.

On May 27, 1997, journalist Jean-François Bélanger was in Paris from where he sent this report to the Téléjournal on a summit with repercussions that x27; we hope historical.

Michèle Viroly hosts the Téléjournal.

Sitting at the same table, the 19 members of NATO sign with Russian President Boris Yeltsin an act that is said to be founding.

The text that we have adopted aims to put an end to to 50 years of the Cold War between the West and the former Soviet Union and to restore collective security in Europe.

It is a light-hearted Boris Yeltsin who signs this founding act.

A dramatic twist, the Russian president even announced without any warning that he had taken the decision to defuse the nuclear warheads pointed at NATO countries.

Jean-François Bélanger recalls yet Russia reluctantly signed the new agreement.

It is a militarily, politically and economically weakened Russia that is resolving to accept the new agreement.

President Yeltsin is coping with bad luck, says Russia specialist Alexander Adler.

Despite the accolades, there are still traces of mistrust between Russia and the NATO countries.

President Yeltsin notably opposes possible admission to the NATO of Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.

These incorporations would bring NATO too close to Russian borders, worries Moscow.

Despite Russian reluctance, the three countries were invited to join just a few weeks after the signing of the Founding Act on July 12, 1997 and entered the organization on March 12, 1999.

Russian Foreign Minister Evgueni Primakov then condemned the decision, speaking of a major fault on the part of Westerners.

In fact, mistrust resurfaces sporadically between Russians and Westerners.

“Times are changing. Yesterday's enemies become friends. »

—Maxence Bilodeau, 2002

Despite this, on May 28, 2002, as highlighted in the report by special envoy Maxence Bilodeau broadcast on Téléjournal, Westerners and Russians continued their rapprochement.

Report by journalist Maxence Bilodeau on the signing of the NATO-Russia partnership in Rome

At a summit held in Rome, NATO member countries invite Russia to join a new institution, the NATO-Russia Council.

This institution aims to bury 50 years of fear, hostility and mistrust between the West and Moscow.

Westerners and Russians henceforth promise to work together to build European and international security.

The agreement provides, among other things, for increased cooperation in the areas of the fight against international terrorism and nuclear non-proliferation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes this agreement, which he sees as a very useful working tool.

But as Maxence Bilodeau points out, there may be friendship between Westerners and Russians, but we cannot yet speak of great love.

There is always mutual mistrust.

Russia has not been fully integrated into NATO. The Cold War is not really over.

“The Russians are against NATO and we are for…”

— Rosalya Mikhailivna, member of a Ukrainian folk group, 2008

“The West should understand that. The entry of Ukraine into NATO, for us, is a major, historic world political rupture. Because Ukraine is like our mother. »

— Dimitri Rogozin, Russian representative to NATO, 2008

Report of the journalist Alexandra Szakca on the tension in Crimea, then Ukrainian territory.

On November 7, 2008, Une hour on Earth features a report by journalist Alexandra Szacka.

The latter admirably reveals the Ukrainian question as a fault line that can provoke war between NATO and Russia.

In Sevastopol, Alexandra Szacka meets Russians and Ukrainians living in Crimea, then a Ukrainian territory.

After verification, the journalist finds that the statements of Russian-speaking citizens concerning the imposition of the Ukrainian language by Ukraine are alarmist and false.

The question of Ukraine's NATO membership also produces sinister and almost prescient comments in this report.

Rosalya Mikhailivna, a member of a Ukrainian folk group, strongly calls for Ukraine's entry into NATO.

The Russians are acting like a master in Sevastopol and the Russian fleet must leave, she adds.

Dimitri Rogozin, Russian representative at NATO headquarters in Brussels, of Russian ultranationalist philosophy according to Alexandra Szacka, strongly opposes this scenario.

If Ukraine joins NATO, there will be a major conflict with Russia, says Dimitri Rogozin.

His remarks are particularly enlightening, because Dimitri Rogozin is ideologically very close to the positions of President Vladimir Putin.

Other Russian speakers interviewed by Alexandra Szacka in Sevastopol share the belligerent positions of the Russian representative.

A local deputy declares that if the NATO fleet settles in Sevastopol, there will be war.

Several men testify also that they are ready to fight against NATO and Ukraine.

In 2014, President Vladimir Putin snatched Crimea in a war against Ukraine.

The situation did not has since escalated, plunging the two countries into an all-out and deadly conflict that erupted on February 24, 2022.

Several NATO countries are assisting Ukraine militarily against Russia without getting directly involved in the conflict.

The situation in Ukraine is delicate and could plunge the West and Russia back into a more or less cold war.

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