Putin steps up demands for guarantees from West

MOSCOW－Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his demand on Tuesday for guarantees from the United States and its allies that NATO will not expand eastward, blaming the West for "tensions that are building up in Europe".

His speech at a meeting with Russia's top military brass came just days after Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries, and roll back the alliance's military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe.

Putin said on Tuesday that if US and NATO missile systems appear in Ukraine, it will take those missiles only minutes to reach Moscow.

"For us, it is the most serious challenge－a challenge to our security," he said, adding that this is why the Kremlin needs "long-term, legally binding guarantees "from the West, as opposed to "verbal assurances, words and promises" that Moscow cannot trust.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington is working with its European allies to address what he called "Russian aggression" with diplomacy, but said President Joe Biden opposes giving any guarantees.

Putin noted that NATO has expanded eastward since the late 1990s, while giving assurances that Russia's worries were groundless.

"What is happening now, tensions that are building up in Europe, is their fault every step of the way,"Putin said of the US and NATO."Russia has been forced to respond at every step. The situation kept worsening and worsening, deteriorating and deteriorating. And here we are today, in a situation when we're forced to resolve it somehow."

Russia's relations with the US have sunk to post-Cold War lows in recent years. Since Crimea joined Russia through a referendum in 2014, more than seven years of fighting between Kiev and militias in eastern Ukraine has killed over 14,000 people and devastated Ukraine's industrial heartland in the Donbass region.

'Nowhere to retreat'

Putin has pressed the West for guarantees that NATO will not expand to Ukraine or deploy its forces there, and also raised the issue during a video call with Biden two weeks ago.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday that more than 120 paramilitary members from US private military companies are currently operating in two villages in eastern Ukraine, training Ukrainian troops and setting up firing positions in residential buildings and different facilities.

Putin said the US "should understand we have nowhere to retreat".

"What they are now trying to do and plan to do at Ukraine's territory, it's not thousands of kilometers away. It's happening right at the doorstep of our house," he said.

Putin added that Moscow still hopes for "constructive, meaningful talks with a visible end result－and within a certain time frame－that would ensure equal security for all".

On Tuesday evening, Putin talked about Russia's proposals in phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

According to the Kremlin, Putin informed Macron about Moscow's "diplomatic efforts on the subject" and gave Scholz "detailed comments" on the draft Russia-US security treaty and the security agreement between Russia and NATO submitted last week.

Agencies - Xinhua