Presidents Vladimir Putin and Bill Clinton, 06.05.2000 © Vladimir Rodionov / Sputnik
Russian President Vladimir Putin once suggested to then-US president Bill Clinton that Russia join the Washington-led military alliance, Putin said in an interview with American film director Oliver Stone.
“I remember one of our last meetings with President Clinton, when Clinton was still in office. He visited Moscow and during a discussion I said, ‘So, what if [we] consider an option of Russia maybe joining NATO,’” Putin said in one of his conversations with Stone.
While Clinton replied that he “didn’t mind,” the rest of the American delegation became visibly nervous, Putin went on to say, smiling.
Read more ....
Update: Putin asked Bill Clinton to consider option Russia might join NATO (TASS)
Update #2: Trust but Verify: Putin Asked if Russia Could Join NATO to Gauge Bloc Intentions (Sputnik)
WNU Editor: I know there was a push near the end of President Clinton's term for Russia to join NATO. Why it never panned out is a question that I would love to have the answer to. Was it because it died when the incoming Bush administration killed it .... or 9/11 diverted U.S. focus away from Russia to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq? Was it the Russians changing their mind? Was it just because no one decided to carry it further? I am hoping that Oliver Stone asked these questions. When will we find out .... The Putin Interviews is a four-night event beginning on June 12th at 9PM ET on the U.S. cable channel SHOWTIME. The trailer to this special is below.
8 comments:
Also to consider, was it a serious question on Putin's part?
best guess:
Russia the reason FOR NATO...
I love how Putin just keeps trolling the US.
For some reason my post isn't here. Cold War 1 was over. NATO was founded to contain the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union no longer exists and is NOT coming back. NATO should have been disbanded at the time the Soviet Union fell.
The US was blessed beyond measure to have survived Cold War 1. As such, it'd be beyond insane to want Cold War 2. Unfortunately some foolish people in America went out of their way not only to start Cold War 2 but to inflame tensions. Then they compounded their reckless actions by shooting to he!l careful diplomatic efforts that likely took years to put together that might have presented useful avenues to negotiate an end to Cold War 2. In spite of this, the Russians STILL seem willing to try and negotiate.
Bill Clinton of the 1990s, for all his flaws, was relatively sane. I'd be interested to learn what derailed having Russia as a member of NATO. Had Russia been a member of NATO on 9/11 perhaps we could have invoked article 5 and had their vast military and Intelligence capabilities at our disposal. Maybe we could have even prevented 9/11 alltogether!!
NATO has two key requirements for Membership:
- uphold, sign and ratify the Atlantic Charter
- no unresolved territorial disputes
Thus, the idea floated in the 50's of the Soviet Union joining, was just a joke, just like Putin's.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO–Russia_relations
Much has changed since the 1950s. In the 1990s, much had changed. Now even more has changed than since the 1990s.
As for territorial disputes, Crimea is Russian and will be for the foreseeable future. This cannot be changed. Ukraine foolishly chose to provoke Russia. The US in an even more foolish action chose to support them.
Perhaps the initial suggestion was a "joke." The basic idea is sound though. Having Russia as an ally would be awesome. Merely easing tensions between us and Russia would be a great start. Actually having Russia an ally seems such a pipe dream right now that most Americans are reluctant to hope for such a thing.
LMFAO
The Atlantic Charter and it's supporting documents is the "constitutional" foundation of NATO,
You should read it sometime,
Maybe you can figure out why many of the current members had to undertake lengthy programs of economic, political, human rights and military reform, just to get their names on the waiting list.
Said the scorpion to the frog.
Post a Comment