Putin says Russia doesn’t want conflict with Ukraine, West

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that his country does not want conflict with Ukraine or the West, but pushed leaders for an “immediate” response to Moscow’s demands for security guarantees regarding NATO expansion. 

“We want to ensure our security,” Putin said while speaking at a marathon annual news conference, The Associated Press reported. “We put it straight: There must be no further expansion of NATO eastward.”

Putin also welcomed upcoming talks with the U.S., which are set to happen in Geneva next month. However, he said conversations about Russia’s demands must produce immediate results. 

“You must give us guarantees, and immediately, now,” he warned, according to Reuters.

Russia has amassed about 100,000 troops at the border of Ukraine, sparking concerns amid Western leaders that Moscow may be preparing to invade.

However, Russia has repeatedly denied accusations that it will launch an attack against Ukraine despite the heavy military buildup.

“This is not our [preferred] choice, we do not want this,” Putin said on Thursday when asked about a possible conflict with Ukraine, Reuters reported. 

Moscow submitted draft security documents last week urging the West to deny Ukrainian membership to NATO, as well as other former Soviet countries, and roll back military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. However, the U.S. and its allies have not given Russia any guarantee that their demands will be met. Putin has said that Russia cannot have a constant security threat posed by the possible deployment of Western weapons in Ukraine.

During the news conference, Putin also accused the West of trying to make Ukraine “anti-Russia, constantly beefed up with modern weapons and brainwashing the population,” the AP noted. The claim follows his statement blaming the West for increased tensions in Europe. 

“We just directly posed the question that there should be no further NATO movement to the east,” Putin said. “The ball is in their court, they should answer us with something.”