Oliver Stone - The Putin Interviews

VP:And I fear them too.

OS:Knowing that the United States is in this Cold War mode, would you, therefore, at any point in the near future go to war for Ukraine?

VP:I think that would be the worst-case scenario.

OS:If the United States pushed more weapons onto Ukraine, and the Ukrainian government became more and more aggressive in Donbass, it is inevitable that if the Russians decide to fight for the Donbass region, there would be a conflict.

VP:I don’t think that anything is going to change. Well, I told our American partners about that. There would be more victims. But the result, the outcome will be the same as it is today. Conflict of such kind—conflicts like Donbass—cannot be resolved via weapons. Direct talks will be required. Why wait, one way or another? And the sooner our friends in Kiev understand that the better it would be. But the western countries—Europe and the United States—have to help the Kiev authorities to understand this reality.

OS:Yes, let’s hope so. If you look at the candidates who are running for office in 2016 in the United States, if you look at the Republican side—every one of them made Russian statements—aggressive statements.

VP:That’s the logic of internal political strife within the United States.

OS:Well, the United States has become more right wing since the Ronald Reagan era. And now we have Hillary Clinton on the left—the supposed left—she’s the Democratic challenger, probably will be, making very aggressive statements also about Ukraine and comparing you to Hitler. [75] Background Information: See, “Hillary, Putin’s No Hitler,” Timothy Stanley, CNN (March 5, 2014). Retrieved at: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/05/opinion/stanley-hillary-clinton-hitler/

VP:Nothing new to us, in this situation. We are personally acquainted, she is a very dynamic woman. Well, we could make also such a comparison, but due to the level of our political culture, we try to abstain from extreme statements.

OS:Yes, you could make those statements, but you don’t. You have maturity, and you’ve suffered for war. But the United States has never really had a war on its own homeland. And to many people, who are very important people, war is somewhat of a game.

During the Missile Crisis, the head of the Air Force, Curtis LeMay, who had led the firebombing of Tokyo and been in charge of dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, called on Kennedy to wipe out the Soviet Union. “Now,” he said, “before they get too strong.” [76] Background Information: It is true, as Stone states, that General Curtis LeMay was a proponent of striking the USSR and beginning WWIII while the Soviet Union was still relatively weak. See, “Waiting for WWIII,” Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker (Oct. 16, 2012). Retrieved at: http://www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/waiting-for-world-war-iii

VP:Yes, we know about that. And we knew about that back then.

OS:Well, I hope you understand that the American temperament is volatile at times and cowboy-ish, and it might come to a situation where they might call for your resignation personally because they will personalize it.

VP:[laughter] Well, they’ve already done that—they’ve already personalized it. But unfortunately for them, to them who want that, Russia is a country that is guided by the will of its own people—not directions coming from outside.

OS:Right.

VP:And that’s our advantage.

OS:I know how you’re going to answer this, but I’m going to ask it anyway. If you were the difference—if you were able to resign and pacify these people in the United States, and it would prevent a nuclear war, would you resign?

VP:I don’t think that anyone would push for nuclear war, and people with extreme views in the United States, they should remain calm whoever is chosen as the head of the Russian people. They should be guided by the profound interests of their own people—the American people. And I think the fundamental interests of the American people are consistent with having good relations with Russia.

OS:So do I, but the corporate media is calling for Cold War and it’s been very anti-Russian.

VP:The problem is not with persons or personalities. The problem consists in the fact that the current American leadership would not suffer any other opinion than their own. They do not need countries who have sovereignty. Our partners are not willing to be engaged in a dialogue on equal footing. And so removing any leader in Russia is not going to lead to the pacification or to the improvement of bilateral relations without the willingness of one of the parties, including the United States, to see their partners as equal partners.

OS:We’re going to walk inside?

VP:Yes, we can. But I don’t think there is anything interesting to see inside. But we have no secrets there, so I can show it to you. What would you like to see? It’s my gym inside.

OS:Sure. I hear you work out almost every day or five times a week.

VP:Every day.

OS:Seven days? No.

VP:Yes.

OS:That’s too much. I like ping-pong.

VP:You want to play?

OS:Yeah, if you want. You’re very competitive, huh?

VP:Yeah, but I don’t know how to play. Unlike you.

OS:Well, first I have to get used to the table.

[playing ping-pong through the following exchange]

OS:I didn’t sleep enough. The ball is too heavy.

VP:Well, that’s exactly the case.

OS:What if I win?

VP:Friendship is going to win.

[playing stops]

OS:There’s the gym. Beautiful. No treadmill? All ellipticals. Do you do all of them variously?

VP:Yes, all of them. Do you like it?

OS:Yes, I would come here more often. Do you have a trainer?

VP:No, I’m my own trainer.

OS:Well, you will live a long time if you keep doing this.

VP:Well, only God knows how long I’ll live.

OS:Yeah. It’s beautiful. Swim first, then gym? Then you relax the muscles. It’s a beautiful gym. Do you think when you swim, do you get ideas? From the unconscious, do you find it to be meditative?

VP:No, just absurd things come into my mind when I swim.

OS:You don’t believe much in dreams. This is for badminton or what?

VP:For tennis.

OS:I play paddle tennis. You don’t play tennis?

VP:No. This statue is the founder of Judo. Do you like it?

OS:Very much. Beautiful, well done. Every day, though? That’s tough.

VP:I’m just accustomed to it.

OS:Do you watch television news while you’re doing it?

VP:No, I don’t.

VP:Do you like horses?

OS:Yes, I used to have a big place in Colorado that had horses.

VP:How many?

OS:Eight or nine horses and about a thousand acres. Beautiful riding. I used to ride, gallop, and all that. I was very free.

VP:And what kind of horses did you have?

OS:I bought them at auction in Colorado—you know, no Arabians, no big deal, just riding horses. Western saddle.