Putin: Russia ready to discuss confidence-building measures
Published:Tuesday | February 15, 2022 | 10:36 AM
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow is ready for talks with the United States and NATO on limits for missile deployments and military transparency, in a new sign of easing East-West tensions.
The statement came after Russia announced it is pulling back some troops from exercises that have raised fears of a potential invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin said the US and NATO rejected Moscow's demand to keep Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations out of NATO, halt weapons deployments near Russian borders and roll back alliance forces from Eastern Europe.
But the US and NATO have agreed to discuss a range of security measures that Russia had previously proposed.
Putin said Russia is ready to engage in talks on limiting the deployment of intermediate range missiles in Europe, transparency of drills and other confidence-building measures but emphasised the need for the West to heed Russia's main demands.
The statement followed the Russian Defence Ministry's announcement of a partial pullback of troops after military drills, adding to hopes the Kremlin might not invade Ukraine imminently. The Russian military gave no details on where the troops were pulling back from or how many.
Scholz said he agrees that diplomatic options are “far from exhausted.”
The announcement of troops being pulled back is a “good signal,” he said, adding that he hopes that “more will follow.”
The announcement buoyed world financial markets and the long-suffering ruble after weeks of escalation in Europe's worst East-West standoff in decades.
It came a day after Russia's foreign minister indicated the country was ready to keep talking about the security grievances that led to the Ukraine crisis — a gesture that changed the tenor after weeks of tensions.
Hours before the Russian Defence Ministry statement on the troops, a US defence official said Russian units were moving closer to the Ukrainian border – not away from it. And Western officials continued to warn that the Russian military could attack at any time, with some floating Wednesday as a possible invasion day. NATO's chief said the alliance had no proof yet of a Russian retreat.
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