Putin Warned Bush: Pakistan a "Junta With Nuclear Weapons"

• Declassified transcripts reveal Putin privately warned Bush about Pakistan's nuclear instability, calling it "just a junta with nuclear weapons" in 2001.
• Both leaders privately viewed Musharraf's regime as a major non-proliferation liability despite public counter-terrorism cooperation.
• AQ Khan's global black market for nuclear technology, supplying Iran, Libya, and North Korea, strained US-Russia relations.
• Transcripts show Bush and Putin discussing Pakistani origin uranium in Iranian centrifuges, highlighting shared concerns.
• India views these revelations as confirmation of its long-held stance that Pakistan's nuclear assets are a global security liability, with proliferation occurring under state protection.

Why It Matters: Declassified documents confirm global leaders' deep concerns over Pakistan's nuclear stability and proliferation risks.