https://sputnikglobe.com/20240209/putin-on-nato-opening-doors-to-ukraine-in-2008-we-did-not-agree-on-that-1116679594.html
Putin on NATO Opening Doors to Ukraine in 2008: 'We Did Not Agree on That'
Putin on NATO Opening Doors to Ukraine in 2008: 'We Did Not Agree on That'
Sputnik International
Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson said he had not agreed with the West's move to have NATO open its doors to Ukraine in 2008.
2024-02-09T03:39+0000
2024-02-09T03:39+0000
2024-02-09T03:34+0000
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"Ultimately, in 2008, at the summit in Bucharest, they declared that the doors for Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO were open...This is not how we agreed," Putin said in the interview that aired on Thursday. At the 2008 summit, while the accession of Ukraine to the military bloc was backed by the US and several eastern and central European nations, the initiative was strongly opposed by longtime American allies Germany and France. The downvoting by both nations was recalled early on during Russia's special military operation, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky name-checking former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.Touching on Russia's own intentions to once join NATO, Putin recalled an instance with former US President Bill Clinton at the Kremlin in which the American president flip-flopped on the subject. While the 2000 meeting initially saw Clinton admit there was a possibility, the US official changed his tune in a matter of hours, saying, "You know, I've talked to my team, no, it's not possible now.'"Putin further noted during the interview that once it had become clear that Russia was not welcome to join, he opted to build relations with the United States in other ways.However, US-Russia relations would ultimately remain chilled in the post-Cold War era, with NATO instead choosing to make moves to further encroach on Russia's borders.Highlighting NATO's efforts to stir anti-Russian sentiment, the Russian president pointed out how the military bloc has worked throughout the years to create an imaginary Russian threat to intimidate their own populations.He stated that Russia could only send troops to Poland if Poland first attacked Russia.Putin was speaking in Russian during the interview and the quotes are from Carlson’s official translation in English. The Carlson exclusive managed to bring in over 30 million viewers, with the journalist seeing his subscriber counts skyrocket over a short span of time.
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tucker carlson interviews vladimir putin, exclusive interview with vladimir putin, nato encroachment of russia, nato actions against russia, ukraine nato membership
tucker carlson interviews vladimir putin, exclusive interview with vladimir putin, nato encroachment of russia, nato actions against russia, ukraine nato membership
Putin on NATO Opening Doors to Ukraine in 2008: 'We Did Not Agree on That'
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson said he had not agreed with the West's move to have NATO open its doors to Ukraine in 2008.
"Ultimately, in 2008, at the summit in Bucharest, they declared that the doors for Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO were open...This is not how we agreed," Putin said in the interview that aired on Thursday.
At the 2008 summit, while the accession of Ukraine to the military bloc was backed by the US and several eastern and central European nations, the initiative was strongly opposed by longtime American allies Germany and France.
The downvoting by both nations was recalled early on during Russia's special military operation, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky name-checking former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Touching on Russia's own intentions to once join NATO, Putin recalled an instance with former US President Bill Clinton at the Kremlin in which the American president flip-flopped on the subject. While the 2000 meeting initially saw Clinton admit there was a possibility, the US official changed his tune in a matter of hours, saying, "You know, I've talked to my team, no, it's not possible now.'"
Putin further noted during the interview that once it had become clear that Russia was not welcome to join, he opted to build relations with the United States in other ways.
"We just realized we weren't welcome there, that's all. Okay, fine. But let's build relations in another manner," Putin said on the subject. "Let's look for common ground elsewhere."
However, US-Russia relations would ultimately remain chilled in the post-Cold War era, with NATO instead choosing to make moves to further encroach on Russia's borders.
"Now about NATO's expansion to the east. Well, we were promised no NATO to the east, not an inch to the east, as we were told. And then what? They said, 'well, it's not enshrined on paper, so we'll expand,'" Putin recalled. "So there were five waves of expansion. The Baltic states, the whole of Eastern Europe, and so on."
Highlighting NATO's efforts to stir anti-Russian sentiment, the Russian president pointed out how the military bloc has worked throughout the years to create an imaginary Russian threat to intimidate their own populations.
"They’re trying to intimidate their own populations with an imaginary Russian threat. This is an obvious fact," Putin said, underscoring that Russia has zero interest in other countries, including in Poland and Latvia.
He stated that Russia could only send troops to Poland if Poland first attacked Russia.
Putin was speaking in Russian during the interview and the quotes are from Carlson’s official translation in English. The Carlson exclusive managed to bring in over 30 million viewers, with the journalist seeing his subscriber counts skyrocket over a short span of time.
