US Backtracks on Expanding NATO Eastward Near Russia's Borders

The Spokesman  of US State Department Ned Price hinted that Washington does not believe it has reneged on its promise to Russia not to expand NATO to the east, noting that Washington has long been pursuing an "open-door policy."

Price's statements  came during a press briefing on Monday, as he responded      to a question posed by a journalist who reminded Price that former  US Secretary of State James Baker had promised  the then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990 not to expand NATO "one inch to the east."

Price said that the  North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO)  is a "purely defensive alliance" and should have the option of accepting new members.

He added that the idea that NATO or aspirants to join it, such as Ukraine, could pose a threat to Russia is "a laughable idea if the situation was not so serious."

The State Department spokesperson also stressed that the United States supports Ukraine's right to "determine its own future" regarding membership in NATO "without outside interference."

After the journalist repeated his question whether Washington considers Baker's promise to be wrong or has been reneged and whether the United States understands why Russia is ready to respond to NATO's advance, Price indicated that it is a "long-term policy" of the United States and the alliance, which has been repeatedly emphasized at the Bucharest summit in 2008, without giving a specific answer to the question.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed in an interview with NBC that Gorbachev had received an American promise to stop NATO's expansion to the east.

However,  last week, Putin said that his country would insist, in dialogue with the United States and its allies, on setting specific agreements that would rule out any subsequent expansion of NATO and the deployment of weapons systems that threaten Russia very close to its territory.

Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said last Thursday that Ukraine's accession to NATO is a "red line" for Russia.