Ukraine

At the end of the cold war the United States promised Gorbachev that NATO would not expand eastward. So, on February 9, 1990, at a meeting with Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze, James Baker stated that the United States was striving for a united Germany that would remain "firmly tied to NATO," promising at the same time "iron guarantees that NATO jurisdiction or forces would not move eastward." By 1992 the US had plans to expand NATO and overtime added 18 new members to the original 12 countries. Ten of these members were admitted after Putin came to power in 1999. In a 2007 speech in Munich, Putin expressed Russia's concern about NATO countries surrounding Russia. In 2008 Bush vowed to press for Ukraine and Georgia to be allowed to join NATO. In 2013 President Yanukovych of Ukraine was overthrown because he was going to accept a trade deal with Russian instead of with the European Union. The next year Russia took over Crimea. To better understand the Russian position how would the United States react if Russia started an alliance with Mexico.