Putin blames West for increasing tensions in Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the West for the heightened tensions in Europe during a Tuesday meeting with Russia’s top military officers. 

Putin also repeated his demand for guarantees that NATO will not expand eastward, saying that the increased tensions in Europe are the fault of the U.S. and NATO “every step of the way,” according to The Associated Press.

“Russia has been forced to respond at every step,” he said. “The situation kept worsening and worsening, deteriorating and deteriorating. And here we are today, in a situation when we’re forced to resolve it somehow.”

The meeting came days after the Russian Foreign Ministry released two documents demanding that the U.S. and NATO deny Ukraine membership into the alliance and asking for a rollback in military deployments. 

The Russian president noted if the U.S. and NATO missile systems appear in Ukraine, it will take them only minutes to reach Moscow, according to the AP.

“For us, it is the most serious challenge — a challenge to our security,” Putin said.

He added, per the AP, that Russia will need “long-term, legally binding guarantees” from the West, as opposed to “verbal assurances, words and promises” that the country can’t trust.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that more than 120 staff of U.S. private military companies are operating in two villages in eastern Ukraine. They are reportedly training Ukrainian troops and setting up firing positions in different buildings.

“What they are now trying to do and plan to do at Ukraine’s territory, it’s not thousands of kilometers away, it’s happening right at the doorstep of our house,” Putin said.

The Russian president said he hopes “constructive, meaningful talks with a visible end result — and within a certain time frame — that would ensure equal security for all.”

During a press briefing Tuesday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried said that the U.S. is prepared to discuss the “proposals that Russia put on the table.”

“There are some things we’re prepared to work on, and we do believe there is merit in having discussion,” Donfried, a top U.S. diplomat for Europe, told reporters after a visit to Kyiv, Moscow and Brussels.

However, Donfried noted that there are “other things in those documents that the Russians know will be unacceptable.” She did not specify which ones. 

U.S.-Russia meetings, as well as talks within NATO-Russia Council and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, are likely to happen in January, according to Donfried.