Documents about the conversation between Putin and Clinton about Russia's accession to NATO have been declassified in the United States.

In 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin and former US President Bill Clinton discussed Russia's possible entry into NATO. The relevant documents were published by the National Security Archive on August 21.

"In the middle of the plenary session, a curious conversation took place about Russia's possible membership in NATO. Putin was enthusiastic about cooperation with NATO as a way to integrate Russia into Europe," the materials say.

It is reported that the plenary meeting of the leaders lasted just over an hour. However, during this time, the presidents were able to discuss a significant number of important topics.

Prior to that, Putin and Clinton had a one-on-one conversation in the Kremlin. During the conversation, the Russian leader reminded his colleague from the United States about their meeting in New Zealand in September 1999.

"I remember how after dinner you took my hand and led me to the gallery, where we both applauded," said the Russian president.

On February 9, 2024, Putin said that after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Russia expected rapprochement with Western countries and even, possibly, joining NATO, but the events in Yugoslavia did not allow the United States and Russia to find a common language.

In January, a transcript of a meeting between former Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Clinton in 1994 was also declassified, at which Yeltsin stated that in the event of NATO expansion, Russia should have joined the alliance and then other Central and Eastern European states would have followed suit. In response, Clinton told Yeltsin about the "unique opportunity" that would open up for Russia and the United States if relations between the countries continued to follow the planned course.

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