Putin presents extra talks with West to defuse Ukraine tensions

Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned on Tuesday that the US and its allies have ignored Russia’s prime safety calls for, however added that Moscow stays open to extra talks with the West on easing hovering tensions over Ukraine.
Putin argued that it’s attainable to barter an finish to the standoff if pursuits of all events, together with Russia’s safety issues are taken into consideration.
“I hope that we will eventually find a solution, although we realise that it’s not going to be easy,” he mentioned.

He deplored the Western refusal to think about the Kremlin’s calls for for ensures that NATO gained’t increase to Ukraine, gained’t deploy weapons close to the Russian border, and can roll again its forces from Eastern Europe.
The calls for rejected by NATO and the US as nonstarters come amid fears that Russia may invade Ukraine fueled by the buildup of an estimated 100000 Russian troops close to Ukraines borders Russia has denied having an intention to assault its neighbor however talks between Russia and the West have to date didn’t yield any progress
The Russian chief charged that the Western allies’ refusal to heed Russia’s calls for violates their obligations on integrity of safety for all nations, and insisted {that a} answer may very well be discovered by means of extra talks.

He warned that Ukraine’s accession to NATO may result in a state of affairs the place Ukrainian authorities launch a army motion to reclaim management over Crimea, or areas managed by Russia-backed separatists within the nation’s east.
“Imagine that Ukraine becomes a NATO member and launches those military operations,” Putin mentioned. “Should we fight NATO then? Has anyone thought about it.”
Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, following the ouster of the nation’s Moscow-friendly president and later threw its weight behind rebels in Ukraine’s jap industrial heartland, triggering a battle that has killed over 14,000.
Speaking after talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, within the Kremlin, Putin emphasised that it’s nonetheless attainable to discover a settlement that will take each occasion’s issues into consideration.
He mentioned that French President Emmanuel Macron could quickly go to Moscow, as a part of renewed diplomatic efforts following their name on Monday.
Orban, who has cast shut ties with Putin, placing NATO member Hungary in a novel place harassed that no European chief needs a conflict within the area and voiced hope for a settlement.
The Hungarian chief has prevented taking a definitive stance on the buildup of Russian troops alongside Ukraine’s borders, and a few of his opponents at house criticised his journey to Moscow as a betrayal of Hungary’s pursuits and Western alliances.
In a bid to exert strain on the West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has despatched letters to the US and different Western counterparts, to hunt their explanations about previous obligations signed by all members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe, a prime trans-Atlantic safety grouping.
Russia has argued that NATO’s enlargement eastward has harm Russia’s safety, violating the precept of “indivisibility of security” endorsed by the OSCE in 1999 and 2010.

Putin charged that the West has “conned” Russia by reneging on its guarantees within the early Nineteen Nineties, that NATO is not going to increase eastward.
He argued that the US and its allies have ignored the precept that the safety of 1 nation shouldn’t be strengthened on the expense of others, whereas insisting on each nation’s proper to decide on alliances.
Lavrov made the identical argument in a cellphone name with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, saying that he warned that Moscow is not going to enable Washington to hush it up.
Blinken, in the meantime, emphasised “the US willingness, bilaterally and together with Allies and partners, to continue a substantive exchange with Russia on mutual security concerns.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price famous that Blinken additionally “further reiterated the US commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of all countries to determine their own foreign policy and alliances.”
Blinken additionally “urged immediate Russian de-escalation and the withdrawal of troops and equipment from Ukraine’s borders,” Price mentioned.

He reaffirmed that “further invasion of Ukraine would be met with swift and severe consequences and urged Russia to pursue a diplomatic path.”
Senior State Department officers described the decision as skilled and “fairly candid,” noting that Lavrov restated Russia’s insistence that it has no plans to invade Ukraine and Blinken replied that if Putin didn’t actually intend to invade Ukraine, Russia ought to withdraw its troops.
The prime diplomats agreed that the following step can be for Russia to submit its response to the US and for the perimeters to talk once more.
Shortly after talking to Lavrov, Blinken convened a convention name with the secretary common of NATO, the EU international coverage chief and the chairman-in-office of the OSCE as a part of efforts to make sure that the allies are engaged in any additional contacts with Russia.
High-level diplomacy continued on Tuesday, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arriving in Kyiv for scheduled talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Addressing Zelensky, he famous that “more than 100,000 Russian troops are gathering on your border in perhaps the biggest demonstration of hostility toward Ukraine in our lifetimes.”
Johnson mentioned that the UK has a package deal of measures together with sanctions able to go “the moment the first Russian toecap crosses further into Ukrainian territory.”
“It is vital that Russia steps back and chooses a path of diplomacy and I believe that is still possible,” Johnson mentioned.

“We are keen to engage in dialogue, of course we are. But we have the sanctions ready.”
Earlier Tuesday, visiting Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki promised to ship extra weapons to Ukraine, together with transportable air protection techniques, drones mortars and ammunition, noting that Russia’s neighbours really feel like they’re residing “next to a volcano.”
Zelensky mentioned that Ukraine would forge a brand new trilateral political alliance with Britain and Poland, hailing it as a mirrored image of robust worldwide assist for Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president signed a decree on Tuesday increasing the nation’s military by 1000,00 troops, bringing the full quantity to 350,000 within the subsequent three years and elevating military wages.
The decree ended conscription ranging from Jan 1, 2024, and outlined plans to rent 100,000 troops over the following three years.