At the NATO summit, we decided that Ukraine and Georgia will become members of NATO…. And that's actually what we decided back in 2008. There is hope.… You can become members of NATO, if you so wish. Rasmussen: Yeah, but it would also be a clear signal that NATO's door remains open. RFE/RL: What will be the signal to capitals such as Kyiv or Tbilisi, when they've been standing in front of this open door for decades and then Finland and Sweden are accepted overnight? Because it sent the wrong signal to Putin.' Now, in hindsight, I think it was a mistake not to grant Ukraine and Georgia Membership Action Plans back in 2008. And that would send an extremely important signal to Putin, and it would be considered a major defeat for Putin in the current environment. So it's right now that Finland and Sweden should use the opportunity to join NATO. Putin is engaged, so that window might soon close again. Because now they have a window of opportunity. And let me add to this: I think it would be in the self-interest of Finland and Sweden to join NATO right now. I would say an application from Finland and Sweden could be approved more or less overnight.

Rasmussen: Yes, NATO is prepared to welcome both Finland and Sweden. RFE/RL: You say that Finland and Sweden should recognize the new reality in Europe and look to join the alliance without delay. I think the price to pay is modest compared to the current suffering of the Ukrainian people, and the costs of losing freedom in Europe because of inaction. We do know that if we completely ban import of oil and gas from Russia, doing exactly the same as the Americans, it will come at a price. And that would send an extremely important signal to Putin, and it would be considered a major defeat for Putin in the current environment.' It's right now that Finland and Sweden should use the opportunity to join NATO. My concrete proposal would be to cut off all import of oil and gas from Russia immediately. We have seen unprecedented sanctions imposed on Russia. I think we should do more than we have done already.īased on lessons learned from history, we have seen already an unprecedented European and transatlantic unity. And Putin misread that as almost an invitation to go further. Rasmussen: For instance, after the 2014 conflict, when Putin illegally annexed Crimea into the Russian Federation, we imposed modest sanctions on Russia. When you say we should have done more, what could you have done? RFE/RL: Even a lesson learned too late can be useful. But maybe Putin misread our thoughts and I think lesson learned from history is that appeasement with dictators does not lead to peace, it leads to war and conflict. When I took office in 2009, I reached out to the Russians and told them it's one of my priorities to develop such a strategic partnership, despite the fact that one year earlier they had attacked Georgia. RFE/RL: Instead, you followed that with the NATO-Russia partnership in 2010. We could have reacted much more determinedly already in that time. Back in 2008, he attacked Georgia, took de facto Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In addition to our outrage, I think we should have done more to deter Putin. We could have reacted much more determinedly already in that time.' I think we should have done more to deter Putin. And that's why he turned against the West. And he thought that after color revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine, that the aim was to initiate a regime change in the Kremlin - in Moscow - as well. So his thinking is very much impacted by that past. We shouldn't forget that Vladimir Putin grew up in the KGB. Rasmussen: I think the revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine in 20 contributed to his change of mind. And in 2008, he attacked Georgia.… In 2014, he took Crimea, and now we have seen a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And from around 2005 to 2006, he got increasingly negative toward the West. My first meeting took place in 2002…and he was very positive regarding cooperation between Russia and the West. What did you make of the man back then and now?Īnders Fogh Rasmussen: Yes, Mr. RFE/RL: Vladimir Putin, you've met him both as Danish prime minister and as NATO secretary-general, and absurdly enough, he even accused you of secretly taping him.

Rasmussen, who was secretary-general between 2009-14, says Putin is obsessed with the idea of restoring the greatness of the Soviet Union and has turned Russia into an international pariah. In an interview with RFE/RL's Georgian Service, former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen discusses how Vladimir Putin's views have changed over the years.

Interview i am gangster