President Vladimir Putin lambasted the U.S. and its allies for “deceiving” Russia over the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization but suggested further talks may yield a resolution that address Moscow’s security concerns.
“I hope that dialogue will continue,” Putin said Tuesday in his first detailed public comments since December on the tensions. Western officials say Russia has built up more than 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine and warned of punishing economic sanctions if Moscow invades, something the Kremlin says it doesn’t plan to do.
Putin reiterated that U.S. responses delivered last week to Moscow’s security proposals “ignored” Moscow’s key demands: binding commitments not to expand NATO further in the east and not to deploy offensive weapons near Russia’s borders, as well as to roll back alliance military infrastructure in eastern Europe. But he said he hoped a diplomatic resolution could yet be found.
