Russia has violated all its agreements with NATO, so allies do not need to honor them either – Canadian expert

Canadian defense expert Steve Saideman said this in an interview with CBC News.

"The NATO-Russia Founding Act had some language to that effect, but since the Russians have violated pretty much every other clause of that agreement, and it has been essentially dead since 2014, and very, very dead since 2022, we shouldn't be obligated by an agreement that they haven't respected," Saideman said, commenting on NATO's pledge to Russia at the end of the Cold War not to establish permanent military bases in Eastern Europe.

He noted that it is futile to hope Russia will ever return to complying with the act.

"That used to be an obstacle for some NATO countries, like the Germans were very hesitant to have any permanent basing [in the Baltics] because they wanted to keep that act, that agreement in place for the day where it can be relevant again, but that day is gone," the expert said.

Saideman said a more permanent basing system would make it easier on troops and perhaps less expensive because that would save the expense of moving people around every six months or so.

As reported, Canada is considering establishing a permanent military base in Latvia. Currently, more than 2,000 Canadian troops are serving in Latvia as part of NATO's Operation Reassurance to deter Russia, but they are deployed on a rotational rather than permanent basis.

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