MOSCOW (AP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the US and its allies have ignored Russia’s highest security demands, but added that Moscow remains open to more talks with the West about easing rising tensions. about Ukraine.
Putin argued that it is possible to negotiate an end to the deadlock if the interests of all parties, including Russia’s security concerns, are taken into account.
“I hope we will eventually find a solution, although we realize it will not be easy,” Putin said amid an ongoing build-up of an estimated 100,000 Russian troops near Ukraine, fueling Western fears of an invasion .
Russia has denied any plans to attack its neighbor, but talks between Russia and the West have so far been fruitless.
Washington and its allies have rejected Moscow’s demands to halt NATO’s expansion into Ukraine and other ex-Soviet countries, end arms deployment there and turn back alliance forces from Eastern Europe. and describe them as non-starters. They stressed that Ukraine, like any other country, has the right to choose alliances.
The Russian leader refuted that argument by noting that the refusal of Western allies to comply with Russia’s demands violates their obligations to integrity of security for all nations. He warned that Ukraine’s accession to NATO could lead to a situation in which Ukrainian authorities take military action to regain control of Crimea or Russian-backed separatist-controlled areas in the east of the country.
“Imagine Ukraine becoming a NATO member and launching those military operations,” Putin said. “Should we then fight against NATO? Has anyone thought about it?”
Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014 after the ouster of the country’s Moscow-friendly president and later threw its weight behind rebels in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, sparking a conflict that killed more than 14,000 people.
After talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, who has forged close ties with Moscow even though his country is a member of NATO, Putin noted that it is still possible to negotiate a settlement that takes into account the concerns of all parties.
“We need to find a way to ensure the interests and security of all parties, including Ukraine, the European nations and Russia,” Putin said, stressing that the West must treat Russia’s proposals seriously in order to make progress.
The Russian leader argued that NATO’s open door policy does not oblige the alliance to offer Ukraine membership, suggesting the alliance could tell Ukraine it cannot join “because of past international commitments”.
He said French President Emmanuel Macron may visit Moscow soon as part of renewed diplomatic efforts following their appeal on Monday.
In an effort to put pressure on the West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sent letters to the US and other Western colleagues pointing out their previous commitments signed by all members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe , a top transatlantic security group. .
Russia has argued that NATO’s eastward expansion has harmed Russia’s security, in violation of the “indivisibility of security” principle endorsed by the OSCE in 1999 and 2010.
Putin claimed that the West had “ripped” Russia by failing to fulfill its promises in the early 1990s that NATO would not expand eastward. He argued that the US and its allies have ignored the principle that the security of one nation should not be strengthened at the expense of others, while insisting on the right of each country to choose alliances.
Lavrov made the same argument in his letter released by his ministry, stating that “there must be safety for everyone, otherwise there will be safety for no one.”
In Tuesday’s phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Lavrov warned Moscow will not allow Washington to “silence” the issue.
Blinken, meanwhile, emphasized “the readiness of the US, bilaterally and with Allies and partners, to continue substantial exchanges with Russia on mutual security concerns.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price noted that Blinken also “further reiterated the US commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of all countries to determine their own foreign policies and alliances.”
Blinken “pressed for the immediate de-escalation of Russia and the withdrawal of troops and equipment from Ukraine’s borders,” Price said. He reaffirmed that “a further invasion of Ukraine would have swift and serious consequences and urged Russia to follow a diplomatic path.”
Senior foreign ministry officials described the call as professional and “fairly candid”, noting that Lavrov reiterated Russia’s insistence it has no plans to invade Ukraine and Blinken replied that if Putin had no real intentions To invade Ukraine, Russia would have to withdraw its troops. Top diplomats agreed that the next step would be for Russia to submit its response to the US and for the parties to speak again.
Shortly after speaking with Lavrov, Blinken called a conference call with the NATO Secretary General, the EU’s head of foreign policy and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office as part of efforts to ensure that allies establish further contacts with Russia. .
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson continued high-level diplomacy and visited Kiev for scheduled talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Addressing Zelenskyy, he noted that “more than 100,000 Russian troops are gathering at your border in perhaps the largest demonstration of hostility to Ukraine in our lifetime.”
Johnson said the UK has a package of measures, including sanctions, ready to go “the moment the first Russian nose pushes further into Ukrainian territory”.
“It is vital that Russia step back and choose a path of diplomacy and I believe that is still possible,” Johnson said. “Of course we like to enter into a dialogue. But we have the sanctions ready.”
He said he would call Putin tomorrow, noting that the Russian leader was trying to impose “a new Yalta, new zones of influence” in a reference to the 1945 deal between the allied powers. “And it wouldn’t just be Ukraine that was pulled back into the Russian sphere of influence,” Johnson added.
When asked if the UK exaggerated the threat from Russia, Johnson said: “That’s not the information we’re seeing. This is a clear and present danger.”
Zelenskyy said an estimated 100,000 Russian troops are concentrated near the border with Ukraine, another 35,000 to 50,000 are stationed in Crimea and 30,000 to 35,000 more are deployed in rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine. Russia has denied sending troops and weapons to the separatists.
“We are waiting for Russia to withdraw troops from our border,” Zelenskyy said. “That would be an important signal, and the only real answer to whether Russia will continue the escalation or not.”
The Ukrainian president signed a decree on Tuesday to expand the country’s military by 100,000 troops, bringing the total number to 350,000 over the next three years, and to increase the army’s wages. The decree ended conscription from January 1, 2024 and outlined plans to hire 100,000 troops over the next three years.
Earlier Tuesday, visiting Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki promised to supply more weapons to Ukraine, including portable air defense systems, drones, mortars and ammunition, noting that Russia’s neighbors feel they are living “next to a volcano.”
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Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Yuras Karmanau in Kiev, Ukraine, Jill Lawless in London, Dasha Litvinova in Moscow, and Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, contributed to this report.