>> Some of us are actually old enough to have been adults when the Soviet Union fell and to have lived through that period of time.
So am I, and I remember very well how this hoax appeared out of nowhere in late 2000s.
But as Shevardnadze points out, a suggestion of such talks in 1990 is anachronistic, because at the time, fall of the Warsaw Pact and the USSR was beyond comprehension and not discussed. According to him and other direct participants, the quotes that have been taken out of context to "prove" this hoax were in fact limited to German reunification.
Eastern Europe getting into NATO and under "American nuclear umbrella" wasn't a serious topic until mid-1990s, first such ideas were floated in 1992-1993 timeframe and initially thought to be very far-fetched, because Russian forces were still in former Eastern bloc countries. The last Russian forces left Poland only in September 1993. Actual negotiations for the first countries started in July 1997 and were preceded by a treaty in May 1997 between NATO and Russia affirming the respect towards third countries freely choosing their alliances.
To put it bluntly, the hoax doesn't fit the timeline of events.
So am I, and I remember very well how this hoax appeared out of nowhere in late 2000s.
But as Shevardnadze points out, a suggestion of such talks in 1990 is anachronistic, because at the time, fall of the Warsaw Pact and the USSR was beyond comprehension and not discussed. According to him and other direct participants, the quotes that have been taken out of context to "prove" this hoax were in fact limited to German reunification.
Eastern Europe getting into NATO and under "American nuclear umbrella" wasn't a serious topic until mid-1990s, first such ideas were floated in 1992-1993 timeframe and initially thought to be very far-fetched, because Russian forces were still in former Eastern bloc countries. The last Russian forces left Poland only in September 1993. Actual negotiations for the first countries started in July 1997 and were preceded by a treaty in May 1997 between NATO and Russia affirming the respect towards third countries freely choosing their alliances.
To put it bluntly, the hoax doesn't fit the timeline of events.