 |
| Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin |
BATAVIA TIMES – Russian President Vladimir Putin said the United States wanted to push Russia to tackle the Ukraine crisis for the first time since December 2021.
Putin said that the US was trying to draw Russia into an armed conflict over Ukraine which Russia did not want.
Putin said the West had not asked questions to ensure security, but he hoped dialogue would resume.
“Their most important task is to contain Russia’s developments,” Vladimir Putin said of the United States at a joint press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow, Tuesday (1/2/2022).
“Ukraine is only an instrument to achieve this goal. It can be done in different ways, like pulling us into some armed conflict and then forcing their allies in Europe to impose tough sanctions against us being discussed today in the United States.” Putin said
Russia has militarily amassed 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border. Putin threatened to take unspecified action, if taken from Russia.
For now, it is known that the United States (US) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) made comments on the last Russia meeting.
As for Russia, which President Putin will convey, he wants NATO to vow not to be extended to the East and withdraw troops from Eastern European countries, also promising that Ukraine will not join NATO.
But Russia was rejected by US and European officials as a non-starter. The reason is, NATO countries have trained and helped equip the Ukrainian army. But it still has little judgment with the kind of sophisticated military that sets NATO members apart.
