OREANDA-NEWS  As President of the United States, Bill Clinton assured his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that NATO's eastward expansion did not threaten Russia. The details of their conversation are listed in declassified documents from the American government.

"From the very beginning of the NATO expansion process, I knew that this could be a problem for Russia. I was sympathetic to this and I want everyone to understand that the expansion of NATO does not threaten Russia in any way," Clinton said at the time.

The American leader emphasized that if "our successors focus on each other as the main threat," they will lose the opportunity to jointly solve other problems. However, according to information from the documents, the very next day, Clinton was much "less outspoken on this issue."

Prior to that, it became known that Clinton was ready to consider the possibility of Russia joining NATO. "Internal considerations in Russia will not allow this yet, but over time Russia should be a member of all organizations that support the unity of the civilized world," he said.