Putin blames West for tensions, demands security guarantees

MOSCOW — The Russian president connected Tuesday reiterated his request for guarantees from the U.S. and its allies that NATO volition not grow eastwards, blaming the West for “tensions that are gathering up successful Europe.”

Vladimir Putin’s code astatine a gathering with Russia’s apical subject brass came conscionable days aft Moscow submitted draught information documents demanding that NATO contradict rank to Ukraine and different erstwhile Soviet countries and rotation backmost the alliance’s subject deployments successful Central and Eastern Europe — bold ultimatums that are astir definite to beryllium rejected.

The demands — contained successful a projected Russia-U.S. information pact and a information statement betwixt Moscow and NATO — were drafted amid soaring tensions implicit a Russian unit buildup adjacent Ukraine that has stoked fears of a imaginable invasion. Russia has denied it has plans to onslaught its neighbour but pressed for ineligible guarantees that would regularisation retired NATO enlargement and weapons deployment there.

Putin charged Tuesday that if U.S. and NATO rocket systems look successful Ukraine, it volition instrumentality missiles lone minutes to scope Moscow.

“For america it is the astir superior situation — a situation to our security,” helium said, adding that this is wherefore the Kremlin needs “long-term, legally binding guarantees” from the West, arsenic opposed to “verbal assurances, words and promises” that Moscow can’t trust.

Putin noted that NATO expanded eastward successful the aboriginal 1980s and aboriginal 1990s, depite what helium said were assurances that Russia’s worries were groundless.

“What is happening now, tensions that are gathering up successful Europe, is their (U.S. and NATO’s) responsibility each measurement of the way,” the Russian person said. “Russia has been forced to respond astatine each step. The concern kept worsening and worsening, deteriorating and deteriorating. And present we are today, successful a concern erstwhile we’re forced to resoluteness it somehow.”

Russia’s relations with the U.S. sank to post-Cold War lows aft it annexed Crimea successful 2014 and backed a separatist insurgency successful Ukraine’s east. Tensions reignited successful caller weeks aft Moscow massed tens of thousands of troops adjacent Ukraine’s border.

Putin has pressed the West for guarantees that NATO volition not grow to Ukraine oregon deploy its forces determination and raised the contented during a video telephone with U.S. President Joe Biden 2 weeks ago.

The Russian president said Tuesday that Moscow hopes for a “clear, broad response” to its demands from Washington, and determination are “certain signals” that the U.S. is prepared to springiness it.

“We anticipation for constructive, meaningful talks with a disposable extremity effect — and wrong a definite clip framework — that would guarantee adjacent information for all. This is what we volition strive for,” Putin said.