‘Will mull different options if West says no to guarantees’

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday he would ponder a slew of options if the West fails to meet his push for security guarantees precluding Nato’s expansion to Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that Nato deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back its military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe.

Putin has urged the West to move quickly to meet the demands, warning that Moscow will have to take “adequate military-technical measures” if the West continues its “aggressive” course “on the threshold of our home.”

Asked to specify what such Moscow’s response could be, he said in comments aired by Russian state TV on Sunday that “it could be diverse,” adding without elaboration that “it will depend on what proposals our military experts submit to me”.

The US and its allies have refused to offer Russia the kind of guarantee on Ukraine that Putin wants, citing Nato’s principle that membership is open to any qualifying country. They agreed, however, to launch security talks with Russia next month to discuss its concerns.

Putin said the talks with the US will be held in Geneva. In parallel, negotiations are also set to be held between Russia and Nato and broader discussions are expected under the aegis of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

In remarks broadcast on Sunday, Putin said that Russia submitted the demands in the hope of a constructive answer from the West. “We didn’t do it just to see it blocked ... but for the purpose of reaching a negotiated diplomatic result that would be fixed in legally binding documents,” Putin said.

He reaffirmed that Nato membership for Ukraine or the deployment of alliance weapons there is a red line for Moscow that it wouldn’t allow the West to cross.