Former Secretary General Robertson called Putin’s frightening joke to rename NATO the House of Soviets
Photo: Francois Lenoir FLR / Reuters
A joke by Russian President Vladimir Putin during the first meeting of the Russia—NATO Council frightened representatives of the North Atlantic Alliance. This was told by the former Secretary General of the organization George Robertson, reports Foreign Policy.
Robertson noted that the Russian leader jokingly suggested renaming the NATO headquarters into the House of Soviets. According to him, Putin’s ironic statement scared the Polish delegation the most. “But it was a joke, such was the atmosphere then,” the former Secretary General stressed. He added that the meeting was fruitful for all parties.
On November 4, Robertson said that Putin was seriously thinking about Russia’s accession to the North Atlantic Alliance and planned to turn the country into a part of Western Europe. According to the former Secretary General, the Russian president at their first meeting asked him when NATO would invite Moscow to join the union. He was told that countries usually apply for membership themselves.
