US, allies ignoring Russia’s security concerns, says Putin
US secy of state calls for de-escalation in call with Russian foreign minister
WASHINGTON: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that the US and its allies have ignored Russia’s top security demands.
In his first comments on the standoff with the West over Ukraine in more than a month, Putin said the Kremlin is still studying US & Nato’s response to the Russian security demands they received last week.
But he said it was clear that the West has ignored the Russian demands that Nato will not expand to Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations, refrain from deploying offensive weapons near Russia and roll back Nato deployments to Eastern Europe.
The Russian leader argued that the Western allies’ refusal to heed the Russian demands violates
their obligations on integrity of security for all nations and insisted that a solution could be found through more talks.
Putin said he hoped that Moscow and the West will find a solution to the raging security crisis over Ukraine, but also
accused Washington of using Kyiv as a “tool” to contain Russia. “I hope that in the end we will find this solution, although it will not be simple,” Putin said,, although it will not be simple.
Meanwhile US secretary of state Antony Blinken urged Russia
to immediately de-escalate tensions and to withdraw troops from Ukraine’s borders in a call on Tuesday with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
Blinken “emphasised that further invasion of Ukraine would be met with swift and severe consequences and urged Russia to pursue a diplomatic path,” the US state department said in a statement. Lavrov said after the call that he had told Blinken that Russia would continue insisting on its demands, including that the West stick to its security “obligations,” and added that: “Blinken agreed that there is subject for further discussion.”
Push for diplomacy
With tens of thousands of Russian troops massed on the Ukrainian border, Tuesday saw another burst of top-level diplomacy to try to head off a major conflict in Europe.
The British and Polish prime ministers were in Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the Hungarian leader in Moscow and held a phone call with the Italian prime minister.
Before leaving for Kyiv, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to “uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty in the face of those who seek to destroy it”.
Tensions between Russia and the West have been building for weeks, with Russia denying Washington’s accusation that Moscow is preparing an invasion of Ukraine.Italian PM Mario Draghi urged “a de-escalation of tensions” in a call with Putin.
Ukraine to bolster army
Zelenskiy said Kyiv was enjoying its biggest diplomatic and military support since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
“Everyone is coming to us. It is very important,” Zelenskiy told parliament. The Ukraine leader announced plans to add 100,000 personnel to the armed forces over three years and end obligatory service, as Kyiv looks to professionalise its forces.