Oliver Stone: documentary about Putin crucial for US to understand Russia

Film director Oliver Stone, whose series of conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin air next week on Showtime, said he interested in preventing a further deterioration in Russian-US relations.

When asked about the purpose of his film, Stone said that "it's crucial for the United States to understand another point of view." 

"I'm interested in preventing a further deterioration in relations," he said.

"I'm not a journalist," Stone added in an interview with StarTribune. "I'm a filmmaker and I was taking a different approach."

Oliver Stone's The Putin Interviews is scheduled to run on Showtime on June 12-15.