Thread by @McFaul

Some inconvenient facts for those incredibly still arguing that NATO "provoked" Putin to invade Ukraine. 1/ THREAD

When asked if Russia should join NATO, here's what one Russian leader said about the scary, horrible NATO:

"Why not? Why not . . . I do not rule out such a possibility . . . it is with difficulty that I imagine NATO as an enemy." 2/

Who said that? Yeltsin? Nemtsov? No, Putin.
Why would Putin want to join an alliance allegedly threatening to destroy Russia? Makes no sense. 3/

After the second wave of NATO expansion was announced, a Russian strategist said this: "We of course are not in a position to tell people what to do. We cannot forbid people to make certain choices if they want to increase the security of their nations in a particular way.” 4/

Who said that? Kasparov? Navalny? No. Putin. 5/

On Ukraine-NATO, a Russian policymaker said this: "I am absolutely convinced that Ukraine will not shy away from the processes of expanding interaction with NATO and the Western allies as a whole. Ukraine has its own relations with NATO; there is the Ukraine-NATO Council." 6/

"At the end of the day, the decision is to be taken by NATO and Ukraine. It is a matter for those two partners." Author? Yep, you guessed it. That's Putin again. 7/

At a NATO summit -- yes a NATO summit!!! -- a Russian said this: "The period of distance in our relations and claims against each other is over now. We view the future with optimism and will work on developing relations between Russia and NATO in all areas . . ." 8/

Gorbachev? Yeltsin? Nemtsov? No. That was Medvedev in 2010 at the Lisbon NATO summit, 2 years AFTER the "dreaded" 2008 Bucharest NATO summit! I know, inconvenient facts. But these are direct quotes from Putin & Medvedev. But carry on with your mythmaking. 9/

For he details, read: "What Putin Fears Most" journalofdemocracy.org/articles/what-… via @JoDemocracy 10/END