I am indebted to the historian Peter Frankopan for alerting me to recently declassified papers detailing fascinating conversations between Bill Clinton and Vladimir Putin at a Moscow summit a quarter of a century ago.
The US president was nearing the end of his second term, while Putin was just a few months into his race to overtake Stalin, in power for 29 years, as Russia’s longest-serving ruler. A whole generation has grown up since, and in the west that generation is today likely to view Putin as a bloodthirsty dictator hellbent on shattering peace, and destroying democracy, in Europe.
The papers reveal a very different Putin, and a portrait that chimes with the impression we had in Downing Street at the time. Indeed, after our first long meeting with Putin, as the new Russian leader left No 10 and got into his car, Tony Blair turned to me and said: “I think he’s going to be OK this guy, you know.” Mmm, how did that one work out?
Perhaps we were being played by his pro-western noises, like he now plays Donald Trump by pretending to want to stop the war in Ukraine. But the sense we had, as did Clinton, was of Putin admiring the west, fearful of Russia’s post-Soviet decline, keen to work together in tackling challenges such as terrorism, religious extremism, chemical and biological weapons, public health.
He flattered Clinton persistently. So impressed was he by his US counterpart’s knowledge of Russian history that he said: “You could be the president of this country. Or maybe we could switch places.” He spoke effusively of Clinton’s legacy, compared him with Roosevelt, expressed his jealousy that Clinton had so many friends, while he had so few. “It’s hard to find a judo partner when you’re the president,” he lamented.
There were disagreements, for sure, over Russia’s war in Chechnya, for example, and the fear of it spreading to Georgia. “Chechnya is part of Russia,” insisted Putin, as today he says of Ukraine. “We have to fight against terrorism and banditism.” As for Georgia, the sneering Putin we have come to know and hate reared up: “Our Georgian friends are idiots and chickens.”
His admiration for ruthlessness comes through when he gives Clinton a history lesson on Stalin’s secret police chief Lavrenty Beria’s role heading the Soviet nuclear programme. “Those who met their assignment on time were made Heroes of the Soviet Union; those who didn’t were shot.” Clearly he approves.
By far the most interesting exchanges relate to Nato. Today, helped by a few useful idiots in the west, Putin blames Nato for forcing him to invade Ukraine. In 2000, he was musing about Russia one day actually joining Nato. We had had similar discussions, one of the reasons we pressed for the G7 to become the G8.
“There should be full-scale relations between Russia and Nato,” said Putin, all the more remarkably given it was not long since Nato’s war with Yugoslavia, when Russia-Nato relations were frozen. When Putin expressed support for the idea of actual Russian Nato membership, Clinton replied: “We should start now.” Then Putin: “This is the first time that we have heard such a statement from the United States and I must say I am pleased.” Clinton again: “I am serious about being ready to discuss Nato membership with Russia.”
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In the week that Putin was enjoying a love-in with Chinese president Xi Jinping at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, it was also fascinating to read of him saying to Clinton in 2000: “Keep this in mind too. We don’t have the same sort of relationship with China that you have with Britain and France, your nuclear allies. We like Chinese food, but we can’t imagine living there, whereas we can imagine living in America or Europe.” On this, too, his mindset has since changed. He now proudly boasts that his grandchildren speak Chinese.
Frankopan’s take is that the west in general, and the US in particular, missed an opportunity to set Putin’s Russia on a very different course. And of course whereas Putin was busy re-making the system so he did not need to worry about elections, Clinton was about to be replaced by George W Bush, priorities would be re-directed post 9/11, and a more traditional view of Russia would take hold. Clinton’s vision, in which “thirty years from now, we will be working together against new threats”, was never fulfilled. How different might the world be today if that conversation on Nato had been followed through.
Another sign of how much the world has changed is clear from their exchanges about al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Putin labelled Afghanistan, which was “training terrorists against both of us,” and protecting bin Laden, as “Terrorist International”. He said attempts to “civilise them” had failed, and there was next to no chance the Taliban would hand over bin Laden. “We should instruct our services to work together,” he said. “I’m sure they’ll find a common language.” Clinton warned, however: “Air strikes will not be effective… bin Laden surrounds himself with women and children.”
Russia’s onslaught against Ukraine, and Israel’s on Gaza, suggest that the age-old consideration that women and children are not fair game in war no longer carries the weight it once did.
Frankopan and I were sharing the delightful experience of being hosted by English Cricket Board chairman Richard Thompson for the one-day international between England and South Africa at Lord’s. As the game neared its climax, we also shared the disbelief that people who had paid to be there left early – lots of them. They can’t all have had a last train to catch. OK, when the seventh, then eighth wicket fell, it was going to be very tough indeed for England to win the run chase. But not impossible.
So when, as the moon was rising and the clock passed 9pm, Jofra Archer needed a six from the last ball to tie the scores, it could hardly have been more exciting. Part of my hope that he did it was so that the early leavers would miss one of the greatest finishes of all time! I just don’t get it.
I do enjoy our letters page, and I did smile at the recent contribution, from Chris Fitzpatrick in Dublin, saying “I blow hot and cold over Alastair Campbell and his name-drop-laden diary.” But come on Chris, I can’t help it if I met Vladimir and Bill, and still hang out with Tony. It’s not my fault, surely, that presidents and prime ministers want to come on my podcast, celebs want to pick my brains about how to survive in the wretched modern media landscape, and I keep being asked to take part in pro-am football matches, having once played with Diego Maradona, the best day of my life, about which you hear me speak so rarely.
So I think you’re being a bit harsh, Chris. Especially given that, a few overs after taking my seat in the ECB box, I felt a huge slap on my shoulder, and a booming voice greeted me with the words: “Oh my God, Alastair Campbell, you’re so bloody famous these days.”
“Quiet Damian,” I pleaded. “I’m trying to watch the cricket.”
PS Damian (yes, of the Lewis variety) was also involved on that great day when Maradona and I lined up with Schmeichel, Zola, Ginola, Dunga, Mattheus and Desailly. Damian was playing with Gazza, Redknapp, Ferdinand, Adams, Seaman, Robbie Williams and a few others not nearly as famous as Maradona.
