Putin addressed military officials as Russia pressed for an urgent response from the United States and NATO to proposals made by Moscow last week for a binding set of security guarantees from the West.
“What the United States is doing in Ukraine is happening on our doorstep,” Putin said. “They have to realize that we have nowhere else to back down. Do they think we will just stand idly by?”
“If the aggressive approach of our Western comrades continues, we will take appropriate military and technical response measures, and we will respond harshly to the unfriendly steps,” he added.
Putin did not clarify the nature of these measures, but his wording mirrored that used previously by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who warned that Russia might redeploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe in response to what it sees as NATO’s plans to deploy such missiles.
Russia rejects Ukrainian and US accusations that it may be preparing to invade Ukraine as soon as next month, with tens of thousands of troops stationed near the border.
It says it needs commitments from the West – including a pledge that NATO will not conduct military activities in eastern Europe – because its security is threatened by Ukraine’s growing relations with the Western alliance and the possibility of deploying its missiles towards it on Ukrainian soil.
Putin and Biden
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Tuesday that there are no plans for a face-to-face meeting between President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, amid tensions over Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border.
“I think we have to see if, in the first place, there is any progress on the diplomatic front,” Blinken told a news briefing when asked if a face-to-face meeting between the two presidents would be possible to try to ease tensions.
“We also want to see Russia reduced the escalation, moved its forces away from the border with Ukraine, and calmed the tension,” he said.
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