Garčević Explores NATO Enlargement’s Impact on Ukraine Crisis
On April 27, 2022, Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was invited to give a lecture as part of The Milton Academy’s Keyes Seminar Day on North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) enlargement.
Named in honor of its founder and former faculty member Peter Keyes, this lively event has been a Milton Academy tradition since 1977. Seminar Day brings together scholars, business people, scientists, educators, writers, political leaders, and artists making a difference in the world.
Garčević delivered a lecture titled “Did NATO enlargement cause the invasion of Ukraine?” His presentation focused on the popular narrative that NATO enlargement provoked Russia to invade Ukraine. He provided an overview of NATO relations with Ukraine and Russia and explored potential points of contention and addressed whether NATO and EU enlargement has been used as “a cover” for the invasion.
Contradicting the above-stated narrative, Garčević pointed out that from 1997 to 2006, a time marked by large waves of enlargement, NATO and Russia enjoyed an unprecedented level of cooperation confirmed, among others, by the NATO-Russia Founding Act and NATO-Russia Council.
During his diplomatic career, Ambassador Vesko Garčević dealt with issues pertinent to European security and NATO for almost 14 years. In 2004, he was posted in Vienna to serve as Ambassador to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He had been Montenegro’s Ambassador to NATO from 2010 until 2014 and served as Montenegro’s National Coordinator for NATO from 2015 until he joined the faculty at the Pardee School. Learn more about Ambassador Garčević on his faculty profile.