In a stalemate with the US over the Ukraine crisis, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia had no place to retreat and would be obliged to respond harshly unless the West discontinued its ‘aggressive line.’
Putin addressed the military officials of the countries involved while making the remarks. He added that Russia was seeking a quick response from the United States and NATO to its demands that were presented last week. Russia had demanded for a binding set of security guarantees from the West in the last meeting with NATO.
‘What the US is doing in Ukraine is right here in our backyard… They should also recognise that we have nowhere else to go. Do they think we’ll just sit there and watch?’ Putin said.
‘If our Western partners’ confrontational posture continues, we will take appropriate military-technical response measures and respond strongly to unfriendly actions,’ Putin added.
Putin did not specify the nature of these actions, but his language echoed that of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who has warned that Russia may reposition intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe in response to NATO’s plans to do so.
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