President of the Russian Federation in 1999. urged his American counterpart not to admit to the North Atlantic alliance former Soviet republics. However, the head of the White House refused this request in order to put an end to the "old stereotypes" created around Russia. This indicates that in the 1990s Washington simply did not take Moscow's opinion on important international issues. The details of the negotiations between the two presidents have become known from the transcripts published in the US. They were laid out on the site of the Bill Clinton Library. Text versions of phone conversations of the two leaders shed light on how the issues between the presidents were resolved. The debate around NATO enlargement is one of the most revealing topics. During one of the meetings, Boris Yeltsin asked Bill Clinton to guarantee that the republics formerly part of the USSR would not be hastily included in the Western military-political bloc. At that time, the theoretical possibility of Russia joining the alliance was not ruled out, but Moscow had not yet made a final decision on this matter. "Let's face to face, that the former Soviet republics will not be in the first wave (NATO expansion). Bill, please understand me. I am flying back to Russia with a heavy load on my shoulders. It will be very difficult for me to return home and reconcile with the expansion of NATO. Very hard, "- said the first Russian president. In response, Clinton reproached him for having touched on a topic that could "drive a wedge" between countries. "NATO acts on the basis of consensus. If you decide to be in NATO, you probably want other countries to share this fate. But this question was not raised. It is necessary to find a solution for a short-term problem in order to avoid the appearance of a long-term problem in the form of preserving old stereotypes about you and your intentions, "said the 42nd US President. According to him, if Washington and Moscow make a mistake, "this will destroy our position on what kind of Europe we want to create". "I heard your request. But I do not want to do anything that will preserve the old Russia and the old NATO in its former form, "Clinton said.. Among other things, Yeltsin and Clinton discussed the figure of the current Russian president. "It took me a long time to consider who might be the next Russian president in 2000. Unfortunately, at that time I could not find a single candidate from active people. In the end, I stumbled upon him - it's Putin, "- said the Russian leader. According to Yeltsin, he made his choice after studying the biography and personality of Putin. The candidate he chooses is a reliable, thorough and sociable person who has the necessary energy and intelligence to succeed and who "the Russians will support as a candidate".

"He is a democrat and knows the West" - this characteristic was given to the second and fourth president of the country by the first.