Vladimir Putin raged after wanting Russia to join NATO: 'Countries that don't matter'

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that the situation in Ukraine and Russia is “on the edge of a precipice” but there is still time for President Vladimir Putin to “step back”. He added today: “We’re urging everybody to engage in dialogue and for the Russian government to avoid what would be a disastrous mistake for Russia.” Mr Johnson also urged European nations to end its dependence on Russia gas via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. He said: “What I think all European countries need to do now is get Nord Stream out of the bloodstream.

“Yank out that hypodermic drip feed of Russian hydrocarbons that is keeping so many European economies going.”

Concern has surrounded Russia and Ukraine in recent months as Moscow continues to amass troops and weaponry on the border of the country.

Last week, the US has warned of the “very distinct possibility” of a Russian invasion of Ukraine in the next few days.

What motivates the Russian President has always been a subject of debate – but one thing he has always spoken out against is NATO expansion to the east.

With Ukraine pushing for NATO membership, Mr Putin may want to prevent the country from joining the defence pact.

However, former Labour Defence Secretary George Robertson claimed in November that Putin once pushed for Russia to join NATO.

Mr Robertson, secretary general of the transatlantic alliance between 1999 and 2003, said Putin made it clear at their first meeting that he wanted Russia to be part of western Europe

He said: “They wanted to be part of that secure, stable prosperous west that Russia was out of at the time.”

Lord Robertson, now a Labour peer, also recalled a meeting he had with the Russian President.

He continued: “Putin said: ‘When are you going to invite us to join Nato?’ And [Robertson] said: ‘Well, we don’t invite people to join Nato, they apply to join Nato.’ And he said: ‘Well, we’re not standing in line with a lot of countries that don’t matter.’”

Lord Robertson’s comments were made on the One Decision podcast, which is presented by Michelle Kosinski, a former CNN journalist, and Sir Richard Dearlove, a former head of M16.

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Putin appeared to admit that he pushed for Russia to join NATO in an interview series with American journalist Oliver Stone.

The Kremlin chief said he brought up the idea in a meeting with then US President Bill Clinton.

Putin said: “During the meeting I said, ‘We would consider an option that Russia might join NATO.’

“Clinton answered, ‘I have no objection.’ But the entire US delegation got very nervous.”

In a March 2000 interview with the British television journalist David Frost, Putin was asked whether “it is possible Russia could join NATO.”

Putin, who at the time was serving as acting president and weeks later was elected to his first term, responded, “I don’t see why not.”

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The possibility of NATO and Russia uniting will seem a fantasy given Putin’s recent comments.

Last week, he warned that Europe will be dragged into a conflict if Ukraine were to join NATO.

The Russian leader also warned there would be “no winners” from the ongoing crisis, after meeting with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the Kremlin, for talks he described as useful, substantive and business-like.

Mr Macron called for de-escalation as he sat down for the talks, adding: “Dialogue is necessary because that’s the only thing that will help, in my view, to build a context of security and stability on the European continent.”

Mr Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, described the visit as “very important,” but sought to temper expectations, saying “the situation is too complex to expect a decisive breakthrough after just one meeting”.

source: express.co.uk