December 21 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia had no room to back down from its confrontation with the United States over the Ukraine issue and that the West would retaliate strongly if it did not abandon its “aggressive course.”

Putin made his remarks to military officials last week as Russia pressured the United States and NATO to respond urgently to proposals for a bond security guarantee from the West.

“What America is doing in Ukraine is on our doorstep … and they need to understand that we have nowhere else to back down. Do they think we should just take care of it?” Putin said.

“If the occupation line of our Western colleagues continues, we will take adequate military-technical response and act harshly on non-aligned measures.”

Putin did not elaborate on the nature of these actions, but used his phrase previously used by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Rybkov, warning that he could re-deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe in response to what NATO plans to do. The same. read more

Russia has denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning Russia’s intelligence have been made more than once.

It says it needs assurances from the West, including a promise not to carry out NATO military operations in Eastern Europe – because its security is threatened by Ukraine’s growing ties with the Western alliance and the possibility of deploying NATO missiles against it in Ukrainian territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy said on Friday that he was “ready to meet with Russia for direct talks, and we do not care in any form.” But Moscow has repeatedly said that such a meeting would be meaningless without clarity on what the agenda is.

In a telephone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Putin stressed the need to re-assemble the four-member Normandy delegation, which brings together the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, and to work with Kiev to implement existing peace agreements. Ukraine says Russia and its proxies are refusing to intervene.

Olof Scholes, Germany’s new president, spoke by phone with Putin as Western powers were eager to show Russia their commitment to Ukraine and NATO support.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken ruled out a face-to-face meeting between Biden and Putin. “In the first instance, I think we need to see if there is any diplomatic progress,” Blingen told a news conference.

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Karen Donfried, the US State Department’s top diplomat for Europe, told a news conference that Washington was ready to engage with Moscow in three ways – at the NATO – Russia Council and the Security Council, which last met in 2019. And cooperation in Europe.

Meanwhile, he said the United States would continue to send military equipment and supplies to Ukraine in weeks and months – which is hostile to Moscow.

“As President (Joe) Biden told President Putin, if Russia invades Ukraine further, we will provide additional defense equipment to the Ukrainians, and we are already providing more,” he said.

Washington is considering tough export control measures that could disrupt Russia’s economy if Putin invades Ukraine, Biden’s executive told Reuters, and the measures will be discussed at a meeting of senior officials on Tuesday. read more

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the federation would hold meaningful talks with Moscow early next year.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has accused more than 120 US private military contractors of operating in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian troops have been fighting pro-Russian separatists since 2014 and preparing for a “provocation” involving chemicals.

He did not provide any evidence in support of what Pentagon spokesman John Kirby described as “completely false.”

Throughout the crisis, Russia switched between harsh rhetoric, calls for dialogue and terrible warnings, with Rybkov repeatedly comparing the situation to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, leaving the world on the brink of nuclear war.

Many of Moscow’s demands, including blocking NATO membership to Ukraine and the withdrawal of US and other allied troops from Eastern Europe, are seen as unprovoked by Washington and its allies.

But rejecting them will close any space for conversation and exacerbate the crisis.

Maxim Rodionov, Andrew Osborn, Olzhas Auyezov, Polina Devitt, Natalia Zinets in Kyiv, Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Lewis and Idrees Ali in Washington, Sabine Siebold and Philip Blenkinsop in Brusselsop; Written by Mark Travelian; Angus MacSwan Editing

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