Clinton: US offered Putin, Yeltsin Russia's accession to NATO

Former US President Bill Clinton indicated that he offered his Russian counterparts, Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, the possibility of Russia joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

In an opinion piece for the newspaper "The Atlantic", he stressed "the development of relations between Russia and the Alliance in the 1990s."

He indicated Moscow's participation in the Partnership for Peace program, the conclusion of the law establishing Russia and NATO, and American funding for the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Baltic states, as well as bilateral participation in some peacekeeping operations.

"All this time we kept the gates of NATO open for Russia to enter, which was made clear to Yeltsin and then to his successor, Vladimir Putin," he said.

The former US president denied allegations that "the United States ignored, did not respect and tried to isolate Russia, describing these allegations as false."

But he acknowledged that "NATO was expanding eastward due to Moscow's objections, describing this alliance policy as "correct."