Putin argues NATO enlargement talks to blame for heightened tensions with Ukraine

[ad_1]

Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his pressure against a proposed NATO expansion amid an influx of NATO forces along the Russian-Ukrainian border.

In a meeting with the board of the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday, Putin said it was essential for NATO to refuse membership from neighboring Ukraine due to heightened tensions across the region. He said the tensions were mainly caused by NATO and the United States.

“What is happening now, the tensions that are building up in Europe, is their [U.S. and NATO’s] fault every step of the way, ”he told the meeting.“ Russia has been forced to respond every step of the way. The situation has kept getting worse, worse, worse and worse. And here we are today, in a situation where we are forced to solve it somehow. “

Russian officials have pressured Western forces to promise not to expand into Ukraine. NATO and the United States have said there are no such plans. However, Putin insisted in his meeting on Tuesday that taking their word for it was not enough. He stressed that “long-term, legally binding guarantees” should take precedence over “the assurances, words and verbal promises” that are currently given.

“Armed conflict, bloodshed is not our choice, and we don’t want such developments,” Putin said. “We want to solve the problems by political and diplomatic means.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday reiterated his demand for guarantees from the United States and its allies that NATO will not expand eastward, blaming the West for current tensions in Europe. Above, Putin addresses an extended meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry’s board of directors at the National Defense Control Center in Moscow on December 21, 2021. Mikhail Tereshchenko, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Putin’s speech came just days after Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union and call off deployments Alliance troops in Central and Eastern Europe – bold ultimatums that will almost certainly be rejected.

The demands – contained in a draft Russian-American security treaty and a security deal between Moscow and NATO – were drafted amid rising tensions over a build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine which fueled fears of a possible invasion. Russia has denied that it intends to attack its neighbor.

Putin accused Tuesday that if US and NATO missile systems appeared in Ukraine, it would only take a few minutes for these missiles to reach Moscow.

Putin noted that NATO has expanded eastward since the late 1990s while providing assurances that Russia’s concerns were unfounded.

Russia’s relations with the United States fell to an all-time low after the Cold War following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine in 2014 – taking control of the long Black Sea and Sea coasts ‘Azov – and supported a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine that still controls the territory there. Tensions have rekindled in recent weeks after Moscow massed tens of thousands of troops near the Ukrainian border.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday accused that more than 120 personnel from private U.S. military companies are currently operating in two villages in war-torn eastern Ukraine, training Ukrainian troops and setting up military positions. shooting in residential buildings and various facilities.

Putin said the United States “should understand that we have nowhere to retreat.”

“What they are trying to do and are planning to do on Ukrainian territory is not thousands of kilometers away, it is happening right outside our house,” he said.

Putin added that Moscow hopes “for constructive and meaningful talks with a visible end result – and within a certain time frame – which would guarantee equal security for all”.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to the Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov sitting in front of a large screen showing the map of Ukraine during the annual meeting of the Board of Directors of the Ministry of Defense in Moscow on December 21, 2021. Photo by Mikhail Tereshchenko / Sputnik / AFP via Getty Images

[ad_2]