Putin May Demand NATO Rollback to Its 1997 Positions
World
Russia may use the next round of Ukraine peace talks to demand that NATO reduce its military presence in Europe to 1997 levels. According to The Telegraph, citing diplomatic sources, Moscow’s push to involve European countries in the peace process may be linked to an effort to secure concessions over the alliance’s enlargement.
Russian presidential foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov previously said that Europe should take part in negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States. He argued that European countries would play an important role in reaching an agreement. However, sources cited by the British newspaper believe Moscow wants to raise broader European security issues and seek changes to NATO’s military presence near Russian borders.
A demand to return to the 1997 configuration could mean withdrawing alliance forces from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland. All five countries share borders with Russia. Finland joined NATO in 2023. According to The Telegraph’s sources, Western diplomats are not prepared to accept such concessions.
Moscow called for NATO’s military infrastructure to be returned to its 1997 positions in December 2021, several weeks before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov urged the alliance to withdraw its forces and accused it of seeking to push Russia into a subordinate position. Vladimir Putin later repeatedly cited NATO enlargement as one of the causes of the war. Nevertheless, Finland and Sweden joined the alliance after February 2022.
Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty establishes NATO’s “open door” policy: a European state may be invited to join if all existing members agree. NATO says third countries have no veto over such decisions. A demand to restore the alliance’s military presence to 1997 levels would therefore affect not only negotiations to end the war, but also the principle that states can independently choose their security alliances.
A new round of technical talks involving Russian, Ukrainian and US representatives is expected in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November. Media reports suggest the meeting may serve as a preliminary step, while the prospects for a major breakthrough remain uncertain. There has been no official confirmation that a return to NATO’s 1997 military posture is part of the talks’ agenda.
A demand to return to the 1997 configuration could mean withdrawing alliance forces from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland. All five countries share borders with Russia. Finland joined NATO in 2023. According to The Telegraph’s sources, Western diplomats are not prepared to accept such concessions.
Moscow called for NATO’s military infrastructure to be returned to its 1997 positions in December 2021, several weeks before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov urged the alliance to withdraw its forces and accused it of seeking to push Russia into a subordinate position. Vladimir Putin later repeatedly cited NATO enlargement as one of the causes of the war. Nevertheless, Finland and Sweden joined the alliance after February 2022.
Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty establishes NATO’s “open door” policy: a European state may be invited to join if all existing members agree. NATO says third countries have no veto over such decisions. A demand to restore the alliance’s military presence to 1997 levels would therefore affect not only negotiations to end the war, but also the principle that states can independently choose their security alliances.
A new round of technical talks involving Russian, Ukrainian and US representatives is expected in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November. Media reports suggest the meeting may serve as a preliminary step, while the prospects for a major breakthrough remain uncertain. There has been no official confirmation that a return to NATO’s 1997 military posture is part of the talks’ agenda.
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