‘Don’t Need A Lot Of Religious N**s With Nuclear Weapons’: Bush-Putin Shared ‘Nervous’ Fears Over Pakistan’s Nukes | World News

In a development that highlights India’s long-term concern, the United States and Russia have also expressed concerns about Pakistan’s nuclear proliferation. Released verbatim transcripts of conversations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and former US President George W. Bush reveal that both leaders initially had serious concerns about Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and the risk of nuclear proliferation to countries such as Iran and North Korea. The documents were made public this week by the National Security Archive following a successful Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit.

Records covering meetings and phone calls between 2001 and 2008 show that despite establishing a close partnership after the September 11 attacks, Washington and Moscow viewed Pakistan, then under military ruler Pervez Musharraf, as a significant non-proliferation challenge. In the first face-to-face meeting at Brdo Castle in Slovenia on June 16, 2001, Putin openly expressed his concerns about Pakistan’s political instability and nuclear status.

“I have concerns about Pakistan,” Putin told Bush during the meeting. “In fact, this is a junta with nuclear weapons. It is not democracy, but the West does not criticize it. This needs to be discussed.”

The exchange comes amid broader talks on strategic stability, missile defense, Iran, North Korea and NATO expansion. At the time, Bush tried to emphasize that ties with Moscow were improving, describing Russia as “not an enemy, but part of the West.” The two leaders also achieved personal rapport; Bush later said he had examined Putin’s psyche and found him trustworthy.

By September 2005, during an Oval Office meeting focused on nuclear nonproliferation efforts and cooperation on Iran and North Korea, discussions turned more explicitly to concerns about Pakistan’s links to Iran’s nuclear program. The transcripts reflect common unease about the AQ Khan network, where sensitive nuclear technology was illegally transferred to multiple countries.

Full 2005 Transcript:

Putin: But it is not clear what and where the laboratories (Iran’s) are… Cooperation with Pakistan still continues.

Bush: I talked to Musharraf about this. I told him we were concerned about transfers to Iran and North Korea. They imprisoned AQ Khan and some of his friends. He is under house arrest. We want to know what they said. I keep reminding Musharraf about this. “He either doesn’t get anything or he’s not forthcoming.”

Putin: As far as I understand, they found uranium of Pakistani origin in the centrifuges.

Bush: Yes, things the Iranians forgot to tell the IAEA. This is a violation.

Putin: He was of Pakistani origin. This makes me nervous.

Bush: This worries us too

Putin: Think of us.

Bush: We don’t need religious lunatics with nuclear weapons. This is how Iran runs the country.

The talks underscore ongoing doubts about Pakistan’s command and control mechanisms over its nuclear weapons amid political uncertainty. They also reflect the sense of strategic closeness between Bush and Putin in the wake of 9/11; Bush calls Putin “the kind of guy you want in the trenches with you.”