The US National Security Archive has declassified the transcript of the 2001 talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and then US President George W. Bush . The document shows that during the conversation, Putin demanded that Russia be accepted into NATO. His argument: Moscow felt “excluded” from the alliance.
In response, Bush said that he considered Russia part of the West and did not view it as an enemy. He also noted that in 50 years, China could become a serious challenge to peace. According to the American president, Russia's interests are linked to the West, and the country itself should resemble it, including in terms of the rule of law, entrepreneurship and freedom of the press.
What exactly did Putin want?
Putin emphasized that it was only important for Russia not to be considered an enemy. He pointed out that his country was European and multinational, just like the United States. According to him, what Bush said about China in 50 years was important and he could imagine Russia and the United States as allies.
The President of the Russian Federation (RF) also recalled that back in 1954, the Soviet Union had applied for NATO membership. Putin claimed that by the beginning of the new millennium (after 2000), the reasons for the refusal 50 years ago no longer really existed. In this regard, he has suggested that Russia could now become a member of NATO. "It is possible that Russia will become a member (of NATO)," Putin said literally.
Separately, Putin has presented his interpretation of the collapse of the Soviet Union. He has said that it was the "goodwill" of the USSR that changed the world order, and Russia, in his words, voluntarily gave up "thousands of square kilometers" of territory. In this context, he mentioned Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Caucasus. Putin has also said that a significant part of Russian society, including the elites, feel "deceived" by the of the sweeping changes that, in his opinion, have brought “more freedom than people can use“.
In early October 2025, Putin stated at a meeting of the “Valdai“ Club that Russia had tried to join NATO twice - in 1954 and in 2000 - during the visit of US President Bill Clinton to Moscow. At that time, he did not mention his conversation with George W. Bush.
The war in Ukraine is one of the consequences
In the same statement, Putin repeated the thesis that the war against Ukraine could have been prevented if NATO had not approached Russia's borders and if Ukraine had preserved “its real sovereignty“. He used similar arguments in February 2022, when he announced the start of a full-scale invasion, claiming that one of its goals was to counter NATO expansion.
Finland and Sweden joined the alliance after Russia's war against Ukraine began. As a result, the length of Russia's border with NATO more than doubled - by about 1,300 kilometers. After Helsinki and Stockholm submitted their applications, Putin said that Moscow did not view their joining the alliance as a threat, noting: "If they want - please".