Dec 23, 2021: President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia wants to avoid conflicts with Ukraine and the West, but needs “immediate” response from the United States and its allies to demands for security guarantees.

Ukraine is at the center of rising tensions in the East and West, with the United States and Kiev accusing Russia of launching a new attack on its southern neighbor, an allegation Moscow denies. Putin was asked about the threat of a conflict with Ukraine during his marathon annual news conference, which lasted more than four hours.

“This is not our (preferred) choice, we do not want this,” he told reporters.

The United States, the European Union and the Group of Seven have all warned Putin that any new Russian aggression could have “major consequences”, including tougher economic sanctions. Putin said Russia had received a generally positive initial response to the security proposals it had given to the United States this month to ease the crisis and was optimistic about the possibility of talks, which he said were held in Geneva.

But in a separate response, Putin warmed up by recalling how NATO had “brazenly” betrayed Russia with waves of expansion since the end of the Cold War, and said Moscow responded immediately.

Rejecting US accusations that it is preparing an invasion on Ukraine, Russia says it says it needs pledges from the West – including a promise not to conduct NATO military activity in Eastern Europe – because its security is threatened by Ukraine’s growing ties with the Western alliance as well as the possibility of NATO missiles being deployed against it on Ukrainian territory.

While Putin accused Ukraine of breaking its commitments under a 2015 deal meant to halt fighting in its eastern Donbass area between Ukrainian and pro-Russian forces, and refusing to talk to representatives of two breakaway regions there, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said Kyiv, had done “titanic work” to bring about a new ceasefire agreement in the east on Wednesday, and its military reported no violations by what it calls Russian occupation forces in the first half of Thursday.

Ukraine has rejected Putin’s claim that Moscow is the only mediator in the conflict and accuses it of providing direct support to the separatist side. It has repeatedly offered direct talks with Russia, which Moscow has so far rejected. Putin made it clear that he did not see President Vladimir Zelensky as a negotiating partner, accusing him of being under the influence of radical nationalist forces.

Tensions over Ukraine have pushed Moscow’s relations with the West to their lowest level since the collapse of the Soviet Union 30 years ago. Many of Russia’s security proposals, which would require the withdrawal of US and allied forces from Central and Eastern European countries joining NATO after 1997, are seen in the West as a no-brainer.

But the United States and NATO have said they will discuss the package with Russia early next year, aware that a clear rejection could exacerbate the crisis in Ukraine.

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