💭 🐵  🇺🇸  During talks with President George W. Bush in 2001, Vladimir Putin called Ukraine an "artificial state" and asked for Russia to be admitted to NATO➡️  The U.S. released full verbatim transcripts of meetings and phone calls Putin and President Bush from 2001–2008 👇 ⏺ The documents show that in 2001 Putin was a close ally of Bush, united by a shared focus on counterterrorism;⏺ By the end of Bush’s presidency, Putin was openly criticizing U.S. policy, which caused dissatisfaction in Washington.🐵 On Ukraine: In 2001, Putin told Bush that Ukraine was not a naturally formed nation but an artificial state created in Soviet times. He claimed Ukraine received western territories after World War II from Poland, Romania, and Hungary, eastern territories from Russia in the 1920s–1930s, and Crimea in 1956.🐵 On NATO and Ukraine: Putin warned that Ukraine’s accession to NATO would create long-term conflict and confrontation between Russia and the West.🐵 On Russia and NATO: At the same time, Putin complained that Russia was being excluded from NATO and argued it could become an ally. He cited the Soviet Union’s 1954 application to join NATO and claimed that the reasons for its rejection no longer applied.