Russian president again voices anger at Nato expansion and says he would be prepared to intervene in Ukraine
\n Moscow
\nVladimir Putin has accused the west of \u201ccoming with its missiles to our doorstep\u201d as he reiterated demands for no further Nato expansion in Europe.
\nThe Russian president did little to reduce tensions over Ukraine as he spoke at a televised press conference, saying he would be prepared to launch an intervention if he felt Ukraine or its western allies were preparing an attack on Russia\u2019s proxies in the country.
\n\u201cThey keep telling us: war, war, war,\u201d Putin said on Thursday. \u201cThere is an impression that, maybe, they are preparing for the third military operation [in Ukraine] and give us a fair warning: do not intervene, do not protect these people but if you do intervene and protect them, there will be new sanctions. Perhaps, we should prepare for that.\u201d
\nAnalysts have said Russia may be seeking a casus belli as it stations more than 100,000 soldiers, along with tanks and artillery, within striking distance of the Ukrainian border. The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, this week accused American mercenaries of transporting chemical weapons to the frontlines of the conflict zone, although he did not provide any evidence for the claim.
\nThere are few signs that Ukraine\u2019s military is preparing an offensive in Donbass, where the frontlines have remained static for seven years. More than 14,000 people have died since fighting began in 2014.
\nPutin said he did not want war with Ukraine but would seek new security guarantees from the west in upcoming talks with the US, reiterating his controversial demand that Nato\u2019s eastern members remove troops and military installations that appeared after the countries\u2019 accession to the alliance in 1997.
\n\u201cWe have made it clear that Nato\u2019s move to the east is unacceptable,\u201d he said. \u201cThe United States is standing with missiles on our doorstep. Is it an excessive requirement not to install shock systems at our house? How would the Americans react if missiles were placed at the border with Canada or Mexico?\u201d
\nHe once again expressed anger over Nato\u2019s expansion since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, an issue that has become central to his growing antagonism with the west.
\n\u201cSometimes it seems we are living in different worlds,\u201d he said. \u201cThey said they wouldn\u2019t expand, but they are expanding.\u201d
\nPutin said talks with the US should begin next year in Geneva, adding \u201cthe ball is now in their court\u201d.
\nHe said: \u201cAmerican partners tell us that they are ready to launch this discussion, these talks in Geneva at the very beginning of next year. Both sides\u2019 representatives have been appointed. I hope that the situation will unfold exactly under this scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russian president again voices anger at Nato expansion and says he would be prepared to intervene in Ukraine Moscow Vladimir Putin has accused the west of \u201ccoming with its missiles to our doorstep\u201d as he reiterated demands for no further Nato expansion in Europe. The Russian president did little to reduce tensions over Ukraine as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-234629","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n