Putin urges West to yield on Ukraine
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the West on Thursday to “immediately” meet Russia’s demand for security guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine, saying the U.S. is “on the threshold of our home.”
Speaking during a marathon annual news conference, the Russian leader welcomed talks with the U.S., which he said are set to start in Geneva next month, as a “positive” move, but warned that Moscow expects the discussion to produce quick results.
“We have clearly and precisely let them know that any further NATO expansion eastward is unacceptable,” Putin said.
Last week, Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back the alliance’s military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. A key principle of the alliance is that membership is open to any qualifying country.
“Is it us who are putting missiles near the U.S. borders?” Putin said angrily. “No, it’s the U.S. who came to our home with its missiles, it’s already on the threshold of our home. Is it some excessive demand not to place any strike weapons systems near our home?”
Moscow presented its demand amid soaring tensions over a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine that has stoked fears of a possible invasion. U.S. President Joe Biden warned Putin in a video call earlier this month that Russia will face “severe consequences” if it attacks Ukraine.
Russia has denied plans to launch an attack but has described a NATO expansion and weapons deployment in Ukraine as a “red line.”
The U.S. and its allies have said they won’t give Russia the kind of guarantee on Ukraine that Putin wants. American officials are conferring with European allies in advance of the Geneva talks.
The Russian leader charged during his news conference that the West had “swindled, blatantly cheated” Moscow by offering verbal pledges in the 1990s not to expand NATO’s presence east and then enlarging to incorporate former Soviet bloc countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the ex-Soviet republics in the Baltics.
“They said they wouldn’t expand and then they did,” he said. “They said there would be equal guarantees for all, but there is no equal security. It seems to me sometimes that we live in different worlds.”
Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999, followed in 2004 by Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In subsequent years, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia also joined, bringing NATO’s membership to 30 nations.
He accused the West of trying to make Ukraine “anti-Russia, constantly beefed up with modern weapons and brainwashing the population.”
Russia can’t keep living in anticipation of looming security threats posed by possible deployment of Western weapons in Ukraine, Putin said.
He argued that Western weapons could encourage hawkish forces in Ukraine to attempt to regain control over Russia-backed separatist regions by force and even try to reclaim Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The Russian leader claimed that Western expressions of concern about an alleged Russian invasion could be a prelude to a possible attempt by Ukraine to launch an offensive against the rebels in the east following two botched attempts in the past.
“There is an impression that they are preparing a third military operation and warning us not to meddle,” he said.
Ukrainian officials have denied any intention to launch an offensive against the separatists. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said Thursday that Putin’s claim about Kyiv preparing a military operation is untrue.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that “the only aggression at the border of Russia and Ukraine is the military buildup by the Russians and the bellicose rhetoric from the leader of Russia.”
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also insisted that “NATO is a defensive alliance and Ukraine continues to show commendable restraint in the face of Russian provocation and aggression.”
“Any Russian incursion would be a massive strategic mistake and would be met with strength, including coordinated sanctions with our allies to impose a severe cost on Russia’s interests and economy,” Truss said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the situation around Ukraine with Truss and they “agreed on the importance of reinforcing coordinated support amongst allies and partners to impose consequences and costs for further Russian aggression towards Ukraine,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
A senior White House official speaking on condition of anonymity said Thursday the U.S. was prepared to increase support to Ukraine to help it defend its territory and would reassure NATO allies of any change in posture in addition to economic sanctions if Russia invades its neighbor.
Shortly after annexing the Crimea, Moscow cast its support behind a separatist rebellion in Ukraine’s east. The fighting over more than seven years has killed more than 14,000 people and devastated Ukraine’s industrial heartland, known as the Donbas.