“The United States published several transcripts of the conversations between the ruler of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and the then President of the United States, George W. Bush, where Putin raised the question of whether Russia should be accepted into NATO.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Vladimir Putin. Photo from the Kremlin website Source: European Truth, the transcripts were released by the National Security Archive, a non-governmental think tank, after winning a lawsuit over it
Details: In the transcript of the conversation from June 16, 2001, Putin reminds that the USSR once applied to NATO and asks whether it is possible now, when the reasons for the refusal announced in the past have become irrelevant.
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“You made an important remark when you said that Russia is not an enemy. What you said about the future in 50 years is also important (above in the conversation, Bush said that China could become a threat in such a time perspective – ed.). Russia is European and multi-ethnic, just like the United States. I can imagine us being allies. Only an urgent need can push us to an alliance with others. But we feel that we have been left outside NATO,” he said. Putin.
He recalled that the USSR applied to NATO in 1954 and was refused.
“NATO gave a negative answer and gave four specific reasons: the unresolved Austrian issue, the unresolved German issue, totalitarian control over Eastern Europe and the fact that Russia should cooperate within the disarmament process under the auspices of the UN. Now all these conditions have been fulfilled. Maybe Russia could be an ally,” Putin said.
There was no response to these remarks, Bush then asked a question on another topic.
Putin also said in the conversation that he “never considered the US a threat, even during the Cold War.”
In another conversation in 2008, Putin convinced Bush that Ukraine is an “artificial state” with a fragmented society and warned of a “long-term confrontation” with the West in the event of Ukraine’s admission to NATO.
We will remind you that signals came from Moscow that Russia will require significant changes to the draft “peace plan” agreed between Ukraine and the USA.