Putin: The West does not pay attention to Russia’s concerns over Ukraine.
The Russian president stressed Moscow’s unwillingness to escalate tensions over Ukraine, but said Western countries and NATO were ignoring Russia’s concerns.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized Western countries for ignoring Moscow’s concerns about Ukraine.
Putin said Friday evening that the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had not addressed Moscow’s key security concerns and demands in the Ukraine crisis, but that Russia was ready to continue talks.
According to Reuters, Putin made his first reaction to the written response of the United States and NATO to Russia’s requests for security guarantees in a telephone call with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin had told Macron that he would read the answers provided by Washington and NATO this week before deciding on further action.
These concerns include avoiding NATO expansion, not deploying offensive weapons near Russia’s borders, and restoring NATO “military mechanisms and infrastructure” to pre-Warsaw countries in Eastern Europe.
“The key question was ignored: how the United States and its allies intend to adhere to the principle of security integration, that no one should strengthen their security at the expense of another,” the statement said.
A French presidential official also said Putin had stressed that he did not want tensions over Ukraine to escalate.
It was on December 17 that the Russian Foreign Ministry released a draft of security agreements with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). These guarantees specifically reject the further expansion of the NATO alliance to the east and the entry of the countries of the former Soviet Union into it. The draft also allows the bloc to withdraw from any military activity in Ukraine, other Eastern European countries, as well as in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Wednesday evening that Washington had responded in writing to Russia’s request for security in Eastern Europe at Russia’s request.