Declassified papers reveal Clinton floated Russian NATO membership
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In 2000, Bill Clinton told Vladimir Putin that NATO's expansion wasn't a threat and even discussed potential Russian membership, newly declassified files reveal.
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Then-US President Bill Clinton, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands before the Group of Eight summit meeting in Nago, Okinawa, Japan, Saturday, July 22, 2000 (AP)
According to recently declassified US government documents, then-US President Bill Clinton told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a 2000 meeting that NATO's eastward expansion was not a threat to Moscow and that he was open to considering Russia itself joining the alliance.
The non-profit National Security Archive at George Washington University has released the notes of diplomat and translator Strobe Talbott, who recorded the details of a June 2000 Kremlin meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-US President Bill Clinton.
"From the outset of the NATO enlargement process, I knew that it could be a problem for Russia. I was sensitive to this, and I want it understood that NATO enlargement does not threaten Russia in any way," the former President said. He noted that if both presidents' successors focused on each other as enemies, they would miss out on opportunities to cooperate.
Despite this declaration, the declassified documents reveal that the very next day, the US president's position had shifted, and he became much less forthcoming on the issue.
Clinton suggests US-Russia cooperation against Bin Laden
The former President also called for cooperation between the United States and Russia to take down the then-leader of the Taliban, Osama bin Laden, in 2000, according to the same declassified documents.
"As for the United States, we are more directly affected by bin Laden, and here, Russia and the United States need a coordinated strategy. Air strikes will not be effective... We ought ·to get our people together to develop a comprehensive approach to dealing with bin Laden," Clinton stated, according to the documents.
