The West and Russia have “completely different” positions on Ukraine, says Kremlin spokesman

West and Russia They are on “completely different paths” despite spending a week immersed in intense diplomatic negotiations regarding tensions in Ukraine and security in Eastern Europe, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said in an interview broadcast on CNN on Sunday.

“There are some understandings between us. But in general, in terms of principles, we can now say that we are on different paths, totally different paths. And that’s not good. It’s disturbing,” Peskov told the US news channel.

Russia is accused of having deployed some 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine, at a time when it seeks a commitment from Western allies that the country will never join the NATO Atlantic alliance.

High-ranking Russian and US officials held talks in Geneva this week but little progress was made, instead Washington warning at the end of the week that Moscow could be preparing a covert sabotage operation in the coming weeks as a “pretext” to precipitate an invasion of Ukraine, with the deployment of agents trained in urban guerrilla tactics.

The Russian government has been repeatedly warned by Western powers of the “enormous” consequences it would face if it attacked Ukraine again, although these would probably manifest as sanctions and not take military action.

Asked about the possibility of Russia invading Ukraine, Peskow said any military action would be “insanity.”

“No one is threatening anyone with military action. It would just be crazy to do that. But we will be ready to take responsive action,” the official said.

“We want to feel, from the beginning, the willingness to take our concerns into account. Right now, unfortunately, we don’t feel that.”

Russia invaded and annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014, after a pro-Western revolution took place in this former Soviet republic. It is also widely seen as a military and financial backer of pro-Russian separatists at war with Ukrainian authorities in the country’s east, a conflict that has left more than 13,000 dead.