Putin to Oliver Stone: I suggested Russia joining NATO to Clinton, he ‘didn’t mind’

Russian President Vladimir Putin once suggested to then-US president Bill Clinton that Russia join the Washington-led military alliance, Putin said in an interview with American film director Oliver Stone, RT reports.

“I remember one of our last meetings with President Clinton, when Clinton was still in office. He visited Moscow and during a discussion I said, ‘So, what if [we] consider an option of Russia maybe joining NATO,’” Putin said in one of his conversations with Stone.

While Clinton replied that he “didn’t mind,” the rest of the American delegation became visibly nervous, Putin went on to say, smiling.

The conversation is part of a four-night special documentary project, ‘The Putin Interviews,’ set to premiere on the American cable network, Showtime on June 12. Promoted as “the most detailed portrait of Putin ever granted to a Western interviewer,” it will feature interviews between the director and the Russian leader that were made during several encounters over two years.