Russia Could Have Become a NATO Member: Details Released from Clinton-Putin Meeting

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton expressed his willingness to discuss the possibility of Russia joining NATO during a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in 2000. This is evidenced by declassified documents released by the National Security Archive research organization.

According to the archival materials, the American leader also assured the Russian president that NATO's eastward expansion posed no threat to Moscow. Clinton noted that from the outset of the NATO enlargement process, he understood that it could become an issue for Russia.

“I took this matter seriously and want to make it clear that NATO's expansion poses no threat to Russia in any way,” the American president's words are quoted in the record of the conversation at the Kremlin.