On the matter of " not one inch" the assurances were numerous:
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/newly-declassified-documents-gorbachev-told-nato-wouldnt-23629
The truth of the matter in both cases (this and Minsk) is that International relations are build on "good faith" between participants and not the specific wording of agreements on paper. It's pretty clear that in both cases the NATO countries gave assurances they had little intention of holding to.
"The Minsk agreements were just framework agreements for attempts to get a ceasefires. A ceasefire (and I can’t believe that I have to explain this even to a idiotic plonker like you appear to be) is not a state of peace or a commitment to work for peace.
What ceasefire are used for is to try to stop active hostilities for long enough to allow other things to happen. Allowing medical and relief aid in. Diplomats to try to come to some kind of resolution of the conflict. To allow the withdrawal of destabilising weapons etc."
-Nasty too...
Both Merkel and Hollande have already admitted that the "other things to happen" was the mass arming and training of a Ukrainian army by NATO. Clearly it was this latter that was really going to sort out the Donbass problem.
The infamous smirk of Zelensky at one of the French summits when Putin was speaking showed that he too viewed the proceedings as a fraud and Putin as a fool. Likewise as above the western powers were not treating in good faith.
Putin though too trusting is no fool though, clearly knew of the massive military build up in Ukraine and decided to pre-empt the forthcoming western proxy attack.
Repeated Western perfidity liked the above is why we have a war and also why Russia will create its own reality on the ground in Ukraine rather than through any treaty with the West.
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