{"id":30287,"date":"2021-12-01T19:34:48","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T19:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/12\/01\/putin-demands-nato-guarantees-not-to-expand-eastward\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:33:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:33:57","slug":"putin-demands-nato-guarantees-not-to-expand-eastward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/12\/01\/putin-demands-nato-guarantees-not-to-expand-eastward\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin demands NATO guarantees not to expand eastward"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MOSCOW (AP) \u2014 President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow would seek Western guarantees precluding any further NATO expansion and deployment of its weapons near his country\u2019s borders, a stern demand that comes amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainian and Western officials have worried about a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine<\/a>, saying it could signal Moscow\u2019s intention of an attack. Russian diplomats countered those claims by expressing concern about Ukraine\u2019s own military buildup near the area of the separatist conflict in the eastern part of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, noting that Putin could quickly order an invasion of Ukraine, <\/a>warned that Washington stands ready to inflict heavy sanctions on Russia if he does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at a Kremlin ceremony where he received credentials from foreign ambassadors, Putin emphasized that Russia will seek \u201creliable and long-term security guarantees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn a dialogue with the United States and its allies, we will insist on working out specific agreements that would exclude any further NATO moves eastward and the deployment of weapons systems that threaten us in close vicinity to Russian territory,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He charged that \u201cthe threats are mounting on our western border,\u201d with NATO placing its military infrastructure closer to Russia and offered the West to engage in substantive talks on the issue, adding that Moscow would need not just verbal assurances, but \u201clegal guarantees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe aren\u2019t demanding any special conditions for ourselves and realize that any agreements must take interests of Russia and all Euro-Atlantic countries into account,\u201d Putin said. \u201cA calm and stable situation must be ensured for all and is needed for all without exclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin\u2019s statement came a day after he sternly warned NATO against deploying its troops and weapons to Ukraine, saying it represented a red line for Russia<\/a> and would trigger a strong response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tensions have been soaring in recent weeks <\/a>about a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine, which worried Ukrainian and Western officials, who saw it as a possible sign of Moscow\u2019s intention to invade its former Soviet neighbor. NATO foreign ministers warned Russia on Tuesday that any attempt to further destabilize Ukraine would be a costly mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kremlin insists it has no such intention and has accused Ukraine and its Western backers of making the claims to cover up their own allegedly aggressive designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov <\/a>said the concentration of Ukrainian troops looks \u201calarming,\u201d adding that he was going to raise the issue during a ministerial meeting in Stockholm of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Thursday. He again assailed Ukraine for failing to meet its obligations under a 2015 peace deal for the region that was brokered by France and Germany and signed in Minsk, Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKyiv is becoming increasingly insolent in its aggressiveness towards the Minsk agreements, the Russian Federation, and in its attempts to provoke the West to support its military ambitions,\u201d Lavrov said in remarks in the upper house of Russia\u2019s parliament before heading to a meeting with Blinken on the sidelines of the OSCE meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking Wednesday in Riga, Latvia, Blinken said that \u201cwe don\u2019t know whether President Putin has made the decision to invade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do know that his is putting in place the capacity to do so on short order should he so decide,\u201d Blinken told reporters. \u201cWe must prepare for all contingencies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. has \u201cmade it clear to the Kremlin that we will respond resolutely, including with a range of high-impact economic measures that we\u2019ve refrained from using in the past,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blinken gave no details on what kind of sanctions were under consideration if Russia did invade Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\t