Declassified transcripts of Putin and Bush's conversations: the Kremlin opposed Ukraine's NATO membership as early as the 2000s
Kyiv • UNN
Declassified transcripts of conversations between Putin and Bush have been released, in which the Russian leader openly opposed Ukraine's accession to NATO, warning of conflict. He considered Ukraine an artificial state and its entry into the Alliance a threat to Russia.
The US has declassified transcripts of conversations between Vladimir Putin and US President George W. Bush, in which the Russian leader openly opposed Ukraine's accession to NATO as early as the 2000s and warned of an imminent conflict. The documents were released by the press center of the US National Security Archive, UNN writes.
Details
According to the transcripts, as early as 2001, Putin expressed strong disapproval of Ukraine's accession to NATO, emphasizing that it would lead to a prolonged conflict between Russia and the United States.
"I would like to emphasize that the entry into NATO of a country like Ukraine will create a field of conflict for you and for us in the long term, a long-term confrontation," the Russian dictator told Bush.
He noted that Ukraine is an artificially created state, whose population partially consists of Russians, which poses threats to Russia and exacerbates the situation in the region.
"This (Ukraine's accession to NATO - ed.) creates such problems for Russia. It creates a threat of deploying military bases and new military systems near Russia. It creates uncertainty and danger for us. And, relying on anti-NATO forces in Ukraine, Russia will work to deprive NATO of the possibility of expansion. Russia will constantly create problems. Why?" Putin said then.
Observing the existing military threats, Putin argued that NATO's eastward expansion poses a danger to Russia, describing his strategy of focusing on factors that prevent further expansion of the Alliance in Ukraine.
In 2008, he again predicted the possibility of conflict if Ukraine became a NATO member, expressing his fears about pro-Western forces on the Ukrainian political scene.
"The entry into NATO of a country like Ukraine will create a field of conflict for you and for us in the long term," the Kremlin head said, adding that internal divisions in Ukraine could lead to its split.
The dictator also repeated in a conversation with Bush his narrative about an "artificially created state back in Soviet times" and expressed fears about NATO's military infrastructure approaching Russia's borders.
"I always said that there is a certain pro-Western part and a pro-Russian part. Now the power there is in the hands of pro-Western leaders. As soon as they came to power, they split among themselves," Putin told Bush then.
Recall
On December 24, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time published 20 points of the "basic document on ending the war."
Russia considers the US 20-point peace plan as a starting point, demanding more restrictions on Ukraine's military forces and guarantees regarding NATO. Ukraine and the US have disagreements on territorial issues and the ZNPP, but negotiations are nearing completion.