In conversation with Bush Jr., Putin called Ukraine "artificially created" and asked for Russia to be admitted to NATO
Transcripts of conversations between dictator Putin with former US President George Bush Jr., have been published online.
The information was published by the American non-governmental non-profit organisation National Security Archive, according to Censor.NET.
These are conversations that took place in 2001, 2005 and 2008.
What did Putin say about Ukraine?
In 2008, the dictator claimed that 17 million Russians lived in Ukraine, accounting for one-third of the population. He called Ukraine an "artificial country" created during the Soviet era.
"Following World War II, Ukraine obtained territory from Poland, Romania and Hungary - that's pretty much all of western Ukraine. In the 1920s and 1930s, Ukraine obtained territory from Russia - that's the eastern part of the country. In 1956, the Crimean peninsula was transferred to Ukraine. It is a rather large European country built with a population of 45 million. It is populated by people with very different mindsets," Putin told Bush.
NATO
Also, according to the dictator, "NATO is perceived by a large part of the Ukrainian population as a hostile organisation".
Putin expressed concern about NATO’s military infrastructure moving closer to Russia’s borders.
In another conversation dated 2001, Bush says that a "strong Russia" is in the interests of the United States and suggests that Putin "redefine new threats coming from those that hate America and may hate" the Russian Federation.
The dictator says that "Soviet good will changed the world."
"And Russians gave up thousands of square kilometers of territory, voluntarily. Unheard of. Ukraine, part of Russia for centuries, given away. Kazakhstan, given away. The Caucasus, too. Hard to imagine, and done by party bosses." says the Kremlin leader.
Attack on Chechnya
According to Putin, Russians "left" Chechnya in 1996, and then "radicals came in from Arab countries and attacked neighbouring provinces."
Russia's membership in NATO
The dictator said that Russia "feels left out of NATO" because it is not a member of the Alliance:
"In 1954, the Soviet Union applied to join NATO. I have the document. NATO gave a negative answer with four specific reasons: the lack of an Austrian settlement, the lack of a German settlement, the totalitarian grip on Eastern Europe, and need for Russia to cooperate with the UN Disarmament process. Now all these conditions have been met. Perhaps Russia could be an Ally."
