Security threats keep Russian leader vigilant

While showing a firm hand in standoff with West, Putin offers ray of hope

Amid increasing tensions at the Russia-Ukraine border that sparked fears of an all-out war, possible eastward expansion of NATO, as well as new sanctions from the United States and Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual end-of-year news conference in Moscow on Dec 23.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, media outlets were unable to apply for accreditation to the event for the first time since it was first held in 2001. Instead, the Kremlin allowed about 500 international and domestic journalists to take part.

In addition to the Ukraine crisis, in the four-hour event journalists asked Putin questions on topics ranging from what has been called Russia's "crackdown on civil society" and the pandemic's effect on the economy to his relationship with Russian Santa Claus.

Putin urged the West to immediately meet Russia's demand for security guarantees.

Earlier in December, Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back the block's military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe, while NATO insisted that its key principle is that the membership is open to any qualifying country.

"We have clearly and precisely let them know that any further NATO expansion eastward is unacceptable," Putin said.

"Is it us who are putting missiles near the US borders? No, it's the US that came to our home with its missiles. It's already on the threshold of our home. Is it some excessive demand not to place any strike weapons systems near our home?"

Moscow presented its demand amid growing tensions on Ukraine. US President Joe Biden warned Putin in a video call in December that Russia faced "severe consequences" if it attacked Ukraine.

Russia has denied that it plans to launch an attack, but has described a NATO expansion and weapons deployment in Ukraine as a "red line".

Asked if he could provide a guarantee that Russia will not invade Ukraine, Putin snapped: "It's you who must give us guarantees and give them immediately, now, and not have idle talk about it for decades. How would the Americans respond if we put our missiles on the US borders with Canada or Mexico?"

On Dec 30, Biden and Putin exchanged warnings over Ukraine, but conveyed some optimism that diplomatic talks in January could ease spiraling tensions. During their second telephone call in less than a month, "both leaders discussed agreements reached during their previous consultations on Dec 7, including the decision to launch negotiations on the provision of legal guarantees aimed at ensuring Russia's security", said the Kremlin in a statement one day later.

The first round of security negotiations between the US and Russia was scheduled to take place in Geneva on Jan 9-10. They were expected to later continue in Brussels within the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization-Russia Council on Jan 12, and within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Jan 13.

Reporting on Putin's end-of-year news conference, Russian newspaper Vedomosti said the country's foreign policy was one of the focuses.

Putin said during the news conference that the West had "swindled, blatantly cheated" Moscow by offering verbal pledges in the 1990s of not expanding NATO's presence east and then enlarging to incorporate former Soviet countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic states.