In the years leading up to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, diplomats lost their authority, their role reduced to echoing the Kremlin's aggressive rhetoric.

BBC Russian asks former diplomats, as well as ex-Kremlin and White House insiders, how Russian diplomacy broke down.

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[–] ksynwa@lemmygrad.ml 30 points 1 year ago (29 children)

It might be hard to imagine now, but Mr Putin himself told the BBC back in 2000 that "Russia is ready to co-operate with Nato... right up to joining the alliance".

"I cannot imagine my country isolated from Europe," he added.

Back then, early in his presidency, Mr Putin was eager to build ties with the West, a former senior Kremlin official told the BBC.

Gotta wonder how Russia never ended up being able to NATO despite this.

[–] xill47@lemm.ee 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (6 children)

Declassified (by the US) documents mention that Putin wanted to join without waiting in queue with "insignificant countries" (in early 2000s, who would that be? Baltic countries?), and as late as 2012 there was a contract for usage Russian airport as transit hub to Afghanistan (https://m.gazeta.ru/politics/2012/06/29_a_4650373.shtml, was looking specifically for pro-Russian media as a source)

[–] Dolores@hexbear.net 20 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Putin wanted to join without waiting in queue with "insignificant countries"

this is the dumbest excuse ever trotted out in explanation for why Russia wasn't allowed to join. because the largest military and nuclear arsenal in europe should for some reason wait in a "line" in joining an allegedly defensive alliance, when they'd be the greatest possible contribution to common defense? why on earth would there be a "line" to enter an alliance in the first place? surely they had more than a single clerk doing nations' paperwork to join?

[–] xill47@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Something about "you should apply" vs "you should invite us". Noone wants to bow to another and then tension raised over it. Seems pretty believable to me, especially with what was going on domestically

IMO, the new council they have made in Rome in 2002 (NATO-Russia Council) and its predecessor (Permanent Joint Council, 1997) existence should have stopped the farce with "oh no, they are expanding", and a start of joint cooperation. Maybe not as NATO memebership, but as a new working alliance. Right after founding of NRC though, Russia decided that it wont proceed with NATO membership

Quotes of Putin from Ukraine joint press conference, 2002 (source: http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/21598)

Russia does not intend to join NATO. Russia, as you know, is engaged in a very constructive dialogue with NATO to create a new Russia-NATO structure “at twenty”, in which all twenty countries will be represented as nations, each having one vote, and all the issues will be solved without prior consultations, without any prior decisions on a number of issues being taken first within the bloc.

And a curious snippet

I am absolutely convinced that Ukraine will not shy away from the processes of expanding interaction with NATO and the Western allies as a whole. Ukraine has its own relations with NATO; there is the Ukraine-NATO Council. At the end of the day the decision is to be taken by NATO and Ukraine. It is a matter for those two partners.

Guess money and power do change people.

[–] SeventyTwoTrillion@hexbear.net 7 points 1 year ago

I personally can't think of anything that's happened with NATO since 2002, so you might have a point here

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