The United States and West are no longer reliable partners

Moscow / Washington – Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the West, including the United States, are not reliable and a proposal to halt NATO’s expansion in Eastern Europe is unlikely to lead to an agreement. Russia has expressed willingness to sign a ‘security pact’ with the West to ease tensions in Europe. Russia has demanded that NATO abstain from awarding membership to countries a part of the Soviet Union in the last century. But the United States and NATO have rejected Russian demands, and President Putin has responded to it.

Claims that Russia has deployed nearly 100,000 soldiers near the Ukraine border have consistently emerged over the past few days. Along with these claims, photographs depicting Russian military movements have also been published. Officials and analysts in Ukraine and Western countries are warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for an invasion of Ukraine. Earlier in 2014, Russia had similarly stepped up its military operations and launched a surprise attack.

This has led Western nations to adopt an aggressive stance, and Russia has been made aware of the dire consequences. Russia and the West have been engaged in a series of verbal clashes, with both sides giving each other warnings. The statement of the Russian President seems to be part of this. A few days ago, Russia proposed to the United States and NATO. This included demands for the withdrawal of military deployments in Eastern and Central Europe, including restrictions on NATO membership and a halt to military exercises near the Russian border. NATO has categorically refused to accede to these demands. The United States has indicated that it is ready to negotiate with Russia.

On this, President Putin clarified his role. President Putin targeted the United States and said, ‘Russia needs a long-term guarantee. But we all know that they cannot be trusted. If there is no interest in an international agreement, we have observed that the United States withdraws from it. The United States operates in areas thousands of kilometres away from its territory citing various reasons. UN resolutions and international laws are also trampled.’ Putin also claimed that the Western countries, overjoyed by the victory in the Cold War, had accelerated NATO’s expansion.

Meanwhile, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the United States was ready to hold talks with Russia through various diplomatic channels. Sullivan made the remarks after talks with Russia’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov. The talks should also include Western concerns about Russian actions, Sullivan said.