Joe Biden, who in 1997 was US senator said:
“I think the one place where the greatest consternation would be caused in the short term, for admission -having nothing to do with the merit and preparedness of the country to come in. Would be to admit the Baltic states now, in terms of NATO, Russian, US-Russian relations. And if there was ever anything that was going to tip the balance, were to be tipped in terms of a vigorous and hostile reaction “I don’t mean military” in Russia it would be that.”
The Baltic states were admitted to NATO in 2004. The President of Russian, Vladimir Putin would later describe it as a deceit and betrayal by NATO and the West.