Board Thread:News and Announcements/@comment-24842575-20140420204039

Bush and Putin's post-2001 camaraderie foundered on a core dispute: Russia's relationship with its neighbors. In November 2002, Bush backed

NATO's invitation to seven nations - including former Soviet republics Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - to begin talks to join the Western

alliance. In 2004, with Bush as a driving force, the seven Eastern European nations joined NATO. 