Putin said about the possibility of “very different” response to NATO expansion

The military-technical response of the Russian Federation to the expansion of NATO to the east can be “very different.” This was announced on December 26 on the TV channel “Russia 1” by the President of the country Vladimir Putin.

“It can be very different. It depends on the proposals that our military experts will make to me, ”Putin said on the air of“ Russia 1 ”to journalist Pavel Zarubin in the announcement of the“ Moscow. Kremlin. Putin “.

The head of state added that he still counts on a diplomatic result in negotiations with NATO.

A day earlier, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, stated that it is precisely the non-expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance and the non-appearance of weapons systems threatening the security of the Russian Federation at the Russian borders that are the main, key issues in the upcoming negotiations with the United States and NATO. She stressed that “those who have not yet grasped the essence of the Russian position should be very clear about this for themselves”.

Prior to that, on December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published draft treaties between Russia and the United States and NATO on security guarantees. As follows from the documents, in particular, the alliance should refuse to conduct any military activity on the territory of Ukraine and other states of Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia.

On December 8, Putin announced that weapons threatening Russia could be deployed in Ukraine after its admission to NATO. The head of state also expressed the hope that “all concerns about NATO expansion” will be heard.

At the same time, US President Joe Biden, in response to Russia’s concern about NATO’s eastward movement, promised Putin to discuss this topic with his alliance colleagues. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov noted that Moscow’s concerns about NATO’s eastward expansion and issues related to the provision of the necessary security guarantees will be discussed in the group on strategic stability.

On December 2, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, announced that Ukraine’s entry into NATO would become a “red line” for Russia. She stressed that after the end of the Cold War, Moscow was assured that the military forces of the alliance would not advance east, but the promises were forgotten and not fulfilled.