Tucker asks the question. “Why does the US fear a strong Russia by not a strong China?” Putin says that in 1991 Russia expected to be welcomed into “the brotherhood of civilized nations”. Then Putin talks about NATO expansion. Putin says that the US lied because they had promised not to expand eastward after 1991. Then he said that there were 5 waves of NATO expansion after 1991. Putin says that at each wave of expansion, Russia tried to persuade NATO to stop expanding by saying that Russia is a “bourgeois” country with a “free market” and “no communist party with power”.
The first NATO expansion after 1991 was in March 1999, then again in 2004, 2009, 2017, 2020, 2023, and 2024. It is my understanding that Putin was referring to the period from 1999 to present day.
Tucker asks the question. “Why does the US fear a strong Russia by not a strong China?” Putin says that in 1991 Russia expected to be welcomed into “the brotherhood of civilized nations”. Then Putin talks about NATO expansion. Putin says that the US lied because they had promised not to expand eastward after 1991. Then he said that there were 5 waves of NATO expansion after 1991. Putin says that at each wave of expansion, Russia tried to persuade NATO to stop expanding by saying that Russia is a “bourgeois” country with a “free market” and “no communist party with power”.
The first NATO expansion after 1991 was in March 1999, then again in 2004, 2009, 2017, 2020, 2023, and 2024. It is my understanding that Putin was referring to the period from 1999 to present day.