Russia says it has options if NATO does not meet its demands

President Russian Vladimir Putin stated on Sunday that he has several options in case the OTAN do not meet their demands not to expand into Ukraine.

Days ago the Russian government gave NATO a proposal according to which the alliance would not offer Ukraine or other former Soviet republics membership, and would reverse their military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe.

Putin has asked the West to respond quickly to his demands, warning that Russia is ready to take “adequate technical-military measures” if the West continues its “aggressive” conduct at “the gates of our homeland.”

When asked, on Russian state television, what Russia’s response would be, Putin assured that it would be a “diverse answer … it will depend on what options our military experts give me.”

The United States and its allies have refused to give Russia the guarantees it demands, pointing out that NATO’s fundamental principle is to give membership to any country that requests it and meets certain conditions. They agreed to start security talks with Russia next month to address their concerns.

Putin said that talks with the United States will take place in Geneva. In parallel, negotiations are also planned between Moscow and NATO and broader discussions are expected under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

In remarks broadcast on Sunday, Putin said Russia filed the demands in hopes of a constructive response from the West.

“We did it not just to see it blocked … but for the purpose of reaching a negotiated diplomatic outcome that would be set in legally binding documents,” Putin said.

He reaffirmed that Ukraine’s membership in NATO or the alliance’s weapons deployment is a red line that Moscow will not allow the West to cross.

“We have nowhere to retreat,” he said, adding that NATO could deploy missiles in Ukraine that would take only four or five minutes to reach Moscow. “They have pushed us into a line that we cannot cross. They’ve gotten it to the point where we can just say, stop! “

The president expressed concern that Washington and its allies could prolong the security talks and use them as a shield to seek a military concentration near Russia.