The future of NATO enlargement after the Ukraine crisis
Journal: International Affairs
Year: 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin claims that his country's annexation of Crimea in March 2014 was partly in response to NATO enlargement. NATO leaders counter that eastern enlargement is not a cause of the Ukraine crisis, and they argue that enlargement does not threaten Russia, but rather it creates stability for all of Europe. This article examines the history of NATO—Russian tensions over enlargement, considers how NATO's enlargement policy factored into the Ukraine crisis, and reviews option