US, Russia agree to talk as Putin hits out on Ukraine
US officials have said talks could take place in January on Russia’s troop build-up near Ukraine, after President Vladimir Putin announced he was hopeful of a meeting in Geneva. The Russian leader has demanded immediate guarantees on the future of Nato to defuse the crisis.
“The ball is in their court, they have to give us some response,” Putin said at his annual press conference.
He has threatened military measures but denies planning to invade Ukraine.
Ukraine security officials say more than 100 000 Russian troops have been sent close to its borders, and the US has threatened Putin with sanctions “like none he’s ever seen” if Ukraine comes under attack.
Senior White House officials declined to respond to the Russian president’s core demands that Nato abandon all military activity in Eastern Europe and not admit Ukraine as a member, although both appear to be non-starters.
“It‘s you who must give us guarantees, and give them immediately, now,” Putin said on Thursday, stressing that military measures were ot his preferred choice.
White House Press secretary Jen Psaki said although there had been no final agreement on diplomatic talks, the US was working towards them and looking forward to them.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she welcomed the fact that Moscow had ”signalled it is willing to enter talks in January”, but warned any Russian attack would be met with sanctions that would hit Russia’s economy.
Any Russian incursion would be a massive strategic mistake and would be met with strength, including coordinated sanctions with our allies
Despite heightened tensions around Ukraine’s border, there was a glimmer of hope for the east of the country, where Russian-backed separatists have fought a war with Ukraine’s military for the past seven years. A shaky 2020 ceasefire deal has been renewed by Ukraine, Russia and the rebels, and hailed as a step towards de-escalation by the presidential chief of staff in Kyiv.
France and Germany called for the truce to be respected and for detainees to be exchanged.
Demands for Nato
President Putin laid out “red lines” on Ukraine several days ago, and he became animated when he was asked on Thursday if he would guarantee that there would be no invasion.
“We didn’t come to the US or UK borders, no, they came to ours,” he said, accusing Nato of cheating Russia with five waves of expansion since the 1990s. Psaki pointed out that the only aggression on Russia’s border with Ukraine was from Russian forces and Putin’s “bellicose rhetoric”.
Russia wants Nato to roll back to where it was in 1997, but that would receive short shrift from Poland, the Baltics and other Eastern European states that have joined the West's defensive military alliance.