I would like to emphasize that NATO, after the end of the Soviet Union, and in its early agreements with Russia, kept an enormously light conventional footprint in eastern Europe. It's only after the crisis in Ukraine that the concept of moving conventional forces into eastern Europe has taken place. I am hoping, and I think many in NATO are hoping, that if the Russians realize there is a significant serious [Technical difficulty—Editor] that new conditions for negotiations can emerge.
On November 6th, 2017. See this statement in context.