{"id":53631,"date":"2021-12-21T19:52:11","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T19:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/12\/21\/putin-blames-west-for-tensions-demands-security-guarantees\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:20:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:20:46","slug":"putin-blames-west-for-tensions-demands-security-guarantees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/12\/21\/putin-blames-west-for-tensions-demands-security-guarantees\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin blames West for tensions, demands security guarantees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MOSCOW \u2014 The Russian president on Tuesday reiterated his demand for guarantees from the U.S. and its allies that NATO will not expand eastwards, blaming the West for \u201ctensions that are building up in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s speech at a meeting with Russia\u2019s top military brass came just days after Moscow submitted draft security documents<\/a> demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back the alliance\u2019s military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The demands \u2014 contained in a proposed Russia-U.S. security treaty and a security agreement between Moscow and NATO \u2014 were drafted amid soaring tensions over a Russian troop buildup<\/a> near Ukraine that has stoked fears of a possible invasion. Russia has denied it has plans to attack its neighbor but pressed for legal guarantees that would rule out NATO expansion and weapons deployment there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses an extended meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry Board at the National Defense Control Center in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. (Mikhail Tereshchenko, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Putin charged Tuesday that if U.S. and NATO missile systems appear in Ukraine, it will take those missiles only minutes to reach Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor us, it is the most serious challenge \u2014 a challenge to our security,\u201d he said, adding that this is why the Kremlin needs \u201clong-term, legally binding guarantees\u201d from the West, as opposed to \u201cverbal assurances, words and promises\u201d that Moscow can\u2019t trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin noted that NATO has expanded eastward since the late 1990s while giving assurances that Russia\u2019s worries were groundless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is happening now, tensions that are building up in Europe, is their [U.S. and NATO\u2019s] fault every step of the way,\u201d the Russian leader said. \u201cRussia 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\u2019re forced to resolve it somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t