Bill Clinton Says NATO Delayed Vladimir Putin's Invasion Of Ukraine: 'This Crisis Might Have Occurred Even Sooner'

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton rejected claims that Russia invaded Ukraine due to the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that began during his presidency.

What Happened: “You’re wrong,” Clinton said in response to a question regarding the critics' view during an appearance on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS.”

“I think we did the right thing at the right time. And if we hadn’t had done it, this crisis might have occurred even sooner,” he added.

See Also: Biden Says US Forces Will Defend Taiwan If 'There Was An Unprecedented Attack' By China

The critics have argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine as retaliation for NATO, which Moscow has long opposed and charged with invading its territory. In 1997, then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin had also tried to secure a guarantee from Clinton that NATO would not add any former Soviet republics, which he had denied. And by invading Ukraine, Putin wanted to demonstrate that Kremlin was not weak and would not be easily intimidated by the West.

“When I did what I did, I offered Russia not only a special partnership with NATO, but the prospect of eventual membership in NATO, arguing that our biggest security problems in the future were going to come from non-state actors, or from authoritarian states selling chemical, biological and nuclear capacity to terrorist groups. And that we should do this together,” Clinton said.

Meanwhile, ​​Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised he would not let up in the counteroffensive against Russian forces. “Perhaps now it seems to some of you that after a series of victories, we now have a lull of sorts,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, adding that “this is not a lull. This is preparation for the next series … Because Ukraine must be free – all of it.”

Read Next: Queen Elizabeth II's Funeral: What Will Happen At London's Westminster Abbey Today And How To Watch