Sylvie Claire / February 8, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin assured, after his meeting on Monday in Moscow with Emmanuel Macron, that he was willing to do everything to find compromises and avoid a military escalation in the Russian-Western conflict around Ukraine.
The West fears an invasion of Ukraine, with tens of thousands of Russian troops deployed on the Ukrainian border.
The Kremlin denies any warmongering, but links de-escalation to treaties guaranteeing the non-expansion of NATO and a de facto retreat of the Alliance from Eastern Europe.
The United States and NATO have formally rejected the demands presented by Moscow as essential to guarantee Russia's security: the end of the Atlantic Alliance's enlargement policy and a return of its military facilities to the 1997 borders.
But I do not think that a dialogue stops here, Vladimir Putin stressed Monday, saying that Russia will soon send its written response to this reaction of NATO and Washington.
We will continue to work to resolve the crisis, said Putin.