Russia’s only goal in dialogue with the West is to reach agreements ensuring the security of the country and its people, Vladimir Putin said.
"Our proposal [on security guarantees] is open and clear. We want people I Russia, in Ukraine, in Europe, and in the United States to understand our idea we want to implement during these negotiating process. I see nothing wrong about it," he said in an interview with the Moscow.Kremlin.Putin program on the Rossiya-1 television channel.
"It sets certain limits for all participants in this [negotiating] process. But we have only one goal - to reach agreements ensuring the security of Russia and its people now and in the long-term perspective," he stressed.
According to the president, Moscow is afraid that the West may use its proposals as a possibility to create threats to Russia from the territories of neighboring countries.
"We do have fears that, as I have already said, any our initiative may be used to fill it with destructive agenda of creating threats to us on the territories of our neighboring countries," he said in an interview with Moscow.Kremlin.Putin program on the Rossiya-1 television channel.
"They will indulge in endless talk about the necessity of negotiations but will do nothing but pump a neighboring country with state-of-the-art weapons systems and build up threats to Russia, and we will have to do something with these threats," he noted.
The Russian head of state recalled that he had spoken about the red line that cannot be crossed. "I want everyone both in our country and abroad, our partners to clearly understand: the matter is not in a line we don’t want anyone to cross. The matter is that we have nowhere to step back," he stressed.
"They have driven us to such a line, excuse my language, that we have nowhere to move," Putin said, adding that he has already pointed to the risks of new supplies of missile systems deployed at a distance of four to five minute’s flight to Moscow. "Well, where are you going to go now? They have simply driven us to the state when we must say: stop!," Putin said, adding that is why Russia’s initiative on security guarantees talks was made public.
Russia may choose various responses based on advice from military experts if US and NATO decline to provide security guarantees, Putin said.
"It may vary," he said in an interview with the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin program. "It will depend on the proposals that our military experts will make to me."
The president said Russia will seek to achieve a positive outcome in the talks on security guarantees.
Russia made the proposals on the matter in order "to reach a legally binding outcome of diplomatic talks on the documents," he said. "That’s what we will strive for."
Putin said during his news conference on December 23 that Moscow will base its further steps on the need to achieve unconditional security for Russia in the long term, regardless of how talks with the US on security guarantees unfold. He said Russia made it clear it won’t tolerate NATO’s further eastward expansion.
The US has moved its missiles to Russia’s doorstep, he said, and wondered how the US would feel if Russia were to place its missiles in Mexico or Canada.
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry released draft agreements on security guarantees addressed to the US and NATO. They had been handed over to a US representative at a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry on December 15.
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