Putin discussed possibility of Russia 'joining' NATO with Clinton
President Vladimir Putin said that he suggested to former US President Bill Clinton that he consider the possibility of Russia joining the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO). This was reported by Politico, citing excerpts from an interview of Putin with film director Oliver Stone which was published on Vimeo.
“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, ‘We would consider an option, that Russia might join NATO,’” Putin said. According to the Russian president, Clinton responded, “Why not?”, but “the entire American delegation became very nervous”. When Stone asked whether Russia had applied, Putin simply laughed.
Putin met with Bill Clinton in Moscow in June 2000. The Kremlin’s website states that the meeting took place “one-on-one”.
On June 12, Oliver Stone will present the first part of the documentary film based on a series of interviews with Putin. The series will contain a total of four parts. Thus far two excerpts have been published in which Putin talks about his relation to his security service and Edward Snowden.
Stone explained that the film is concerned with developments in the 2000s, the period when Putin was first elected as president. The film will contain discussion on the views which the Russian leader held at the time. According to the director, the filming lasted two years, and during this time the film production team traveled to Putin four times.
TASS news agency later reported with reference to NATO representatives that NATO is unsure whether Putin and Clinton discussed the possibility of Russia joining NATO in 2000.
“We do not possess any information on this matter,” the Alliance said in response to TASS’s request for comment on Putin’s statement in the interview with American film director Oliver Stone.