Putin wants to immediately negotiate with the US and NATO on security guarantees

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he wanted an “immediate” talk with United States of America (USA) and NATO regarding security guarantees. Putin made this wish as tensions rise between Moscow and the West over Ukraine.

Over the past few weeks, the US and its allies have accused Russia of plotting an invasion of Ukraine. The US and its Western allies have also warned of a massive coordinated sanctions response if Putin launches an attack.

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In a phone call with the president of Finland – whose country has traditionally served as a middle ground between Russia and the West – Putin said he wanted security talks to start without delay.

“He told President Sauli Niinsto that Moscow wants to immediately launch negotiations with the United States and NATO to develop international legal guarantees for the security of our country,” the Kremlin said in a statement. .

Russia’s demands, he said, included stopping NATO from expanding east and deploying weapons in neighboring countries, including Ukraine. Putin repeated the same demands in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.

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In a phone call with the Finnish president, Putin also accused the Ukrainian leadership of increasingly using “heavy weapons and drone strikes” against pro-Russian rebels in its separatist east.

The Russian leader also denied planning an invasion and blamed Western security alliances for rising tensions and demanded “legal guarantees” the alliance would not expand eastward.

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