Bill Clinton Tells Brown Audience War In Ukraine Wasn't Preventable

PROVIDENCE, RI — Former President Bill Clinton has had a lot of sleepless nights since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, he said during a lecture Tuesday at Brown University.

"I do not believe that there was anything we could have done to prevent this," Clinton said.

Clinton said he had a good relationship with former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, but that after Yeltsin died, he met with Russian President Putin. After the meeting, Clinton expressed concerns that Putin didn't believe in democracy.

"Between 1943 when we were allies in WWII with the Soviet Union and through 1991, there were 26 meetings between the Soviet leaders and American leaders," Clinton said. "In the eight years I served, I met with Boris Yeltsin eight times and Vladimir Putin five times. The idea we were trying to jam Russia or isolate them, that's just not true."

Clinton said he made the argument to Yeltsin that nothing was preventing him from joining NATO, as neighboring countries did when Clinton left office. But Yeltsin resigned early because of health issues and named Putin his successor.

"I think Yeltsin, if he was well enough, would have considered it," he said.

See the full lecture from Clinton here.