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Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called the hasty accession of the Baltic states and a number of former Warsaw Pact countries into NATO a mistake, Interfax reported on Wednesday, citing Gates' memoir, "Duty." "The hasty inclusion of former Soviet satellites – the Baltic states, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia – into NATO was a mistake," Gates writes in the book, which is due to be released soon. "This process should have taken place more slowly. The U.S. agreement with the governments of Romania and Bulgaria to rotate soldiers through their bases was an unnecessary provocation," the former head of the Pentagon notes. Gates also believes that "the attempt to invite Georgia and Ukraine into NATO was an overreach." "The roots of the Russian Empire lie in Kyiv, so this was a colossal provocation. Were Europeans, let alone Americans, ready to send their sons and daughters to defend Georgia or Ukraine? Hardly. So, NATO expansion was not a carefully considered military commitment, but a political act that undermined the alliance's goals and recklessly ignored what the Russians considered their vital national interests," the former head of the Pentagon writes. Gates, who has a background in Soviet studies and is a Republican, has worked with four U.S. presidents. In his opinion, "relations with Russia have suffered from poor management since (President George H.W. Bush) left office in 1993." "The arrogance of American officials, academics, businessmen, and politicians, who told Russians how to conduct their internal and foreign affairs, led to deep and long-term resentment and bitterness," Gates writes.