The American organization “National Security Archive” at George Washington University has published three transcripts of Putin's negotiations with US President George W. Bush in 2001, 2005, and 2008. The documents show that early in his reign, Putin expressed dissatisfaction with NATO expansion, complained about “lost territories,” and directly stated his willingness to create problems for Ukraine.
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2001: First meeting in Ljubljana
According to declassified materials reported by BBC Ukraine, on June 16, 2001, Putin and George W. Bush met for the first time at Brdo Castle in the Slovenian capital. The tone of the conversation was friendly: Bush invited Putin to his ranch in Texas and emphasized that “a strong Russia is in our interests.” Putin replied: “I am popular in Russia, and I can tell you why: because I hear people.”
However, immediately after that he moved on to historical claims: “The Russians gave up thousands of square kilometers of territory, voluntarily. This is unheard of! Ukraine, which had been part of Russia for centuries, was given up. Kazakhstan was given up. The Caucasus too. It's hard to imagine, and it was done by party leaders.”
Putin then tells Bush that the West, in his opinion, has failed Moscow on several issues, including failing to resolve the issue of Russia's debt and ignoring the actions of radical Islamist groups in Chechnya.
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Putin also complained about NATO expansion and that Russia feels superfluous in matters of the alliance: “In 1954, the USSR applied to join NATO, but it was rejected. “The real question is how we associate Russia with the rest of the civilized world. The fact is that NATO is expanding, and we cannot say anything about it.”
Bush in response asked several times about the state of press freedom in Russia, referring to the transfer of the NTV channel under the control of Gazprom Media. Putin rejected the accusations, saying that the former owner, Vladimir Gusinsky, had “embezzled state funds.”
2005: The Oval Office in Washington
According to BBC Ukraine, on September 16, 2005, Bush and Putin met at the White House. The main topic was nuclear non-proliferation and relations with Iran and North Korea. “The conversation demonstrates a surprising closeness of positions,” the authors of the publication note.
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2008: Sochi, after the NATO summit in Bucharest
On April 6, 2008, Putin and Bush met for the last time at the Russian president’s summer residence, Bocharov Stream, near Sochi. As the National Security Archive notes, the tone of the conversation was completely different — tense and confrontational. It took place immediately after a key NATO summit in Bucharest. At it, the United States insisted that Ukraine and Georgia be invited to the alliance.
However, the allies made a compromise decision: they did not provide Kyiv and Tbilisi with a Membership Action Plan, but noted that both countries had the prospect of joining NATO in the future.
Putin perceived this position as a direct threat to Russia's security. Just four months after the summit, Moscow launched a military invasion of Georgia.
During talks with Bush in Sochi, Putin stated: “The accession of a country like Ukraine to NATO will create a long-term field of conflict for us.”
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When asked by Bush, “Why?” he replied: “Ukraine is an artificial state created in Soviet times.”
Putin's thesis about the “artificiality of Ukraine” later became one of the Kremlin's justifications for a full-scale invasion in 2022.
Later, in a conversation with Bush in Sochi, Putin directly warned: “Russia can constantly create problems there (in Ukraine. – Author ) so that NATO no longer has the opportunity to expand.”
In 2008, Putin claimed that “70% of Ukrainians are against NATO,” although data from Ukrainian sociologists showed otherwise: in the spring of 2008, 59% were against, 22% were in favor, and another 19% were undecided. In 2024, according to a survey by the Razumkov Center, more than 82% of citizens support Ukraine’s membership in NATO.
However, in 2008, Putin warned Bush Jr.: “By relying on the forces opposing NATO in Ukraine, Russia can work to ensure that NATO no longer has the opportunity to expand. Russia can constantly create problems there. What is the point of Ukrainian membership in NATO? What is the benefit of this for NATO and the United States? There can only be one reason – to cement Ukraine’s status as part of the Western world – that should be the logic. I don’t think this is the right logic.”
Bush responded with restraint: “One of the things I like about you is that you weren't afraid to say all that to NATO. You were listened to carefully.”
It was previously reported that the Kremlin calls the main issue in the negotiations to end the war legal guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO.