Russia has denied reports that Vladimir Putin agreed a deal on Ukraine with French President Emmanuel Macron during talks in Moscow yester...
Russia has denied reports that Vladimir Putin agreed a deal on Ukraine with French President Emmanuel Macron during talks in Moscow yesterday despite Paris' claim he managed to exact concessions from the Kremlin.
The denial comes amid fiery warnings from Moscow that a nuclear war could break out if Ukraine joins NATO and after Putin accused the West of 'complete disregard for our concerns' following the six-hour-long talks yesterday.
Macron had said Putin told him that 'he won't be initiating an escalation' in Ukraine and that there will not be any Russian 'permanent [military] base' or 'deployment' in Belarus, where Russia had sent a large amount of troops ostensibly for major war games.
But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said today the reports were 'essentially wrong' because it was 'simply impossible' for Moscow and Paris to 'conclude any deals'.
'France is the EU presidency, France is a member of NATO, where Paris does not have leadership. In this bloc, the leadership belongs to a completely different country. What kind of deals can we talk about?', Peskov said.
He added Russia is not 'sensing any real ways towards a solution' and warned that 'de-escalation is really, really needed' because 'tensions are rising day by day'.
Putin and Macron yesterday held lengthy negotiations over the crisis in Ukraine, which the Russian strongman described as 'constructive' after using the familiar 'ty' form of 'you' to address the French President, seen as a sign of a good rapport between the leaders.
But there was no mention of a deal from either leader during yesterday's press conference, in which Putin said that he wanted to 'stress one more time' that 'if Ukraine joins NATO... the European countries will be automatically pulled into a war conflict with Russia'.
He said states would not 'even have time to blink' before invoking Article 5 of NATO which demands collective defense of members.
Macron, who will today hold talks in Kiev with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, later told journalists on a plane to Kiev that he and Putin had discussed the possible 'Finlandisation' of Ukraine - making the country neutral - so that 'NATO can coexist with Russia', according to Le Figaro.
That would be an advance on the current negotiating position of the US and NATO and could strain the already rocky transatlantic relationship.
Putin has spent months massing some 135,000 troops backed by tanks and artillery on Ukraine's borders, sparking repeated warnings from Washington that he is about to invade.
Vladimir Putin yesterday warned a nuclear war could break out if Ukraine joins NATO and accused the West of 'complete disregard for our concerns' in a press conference (pictured) hours after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Kiev today for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (pictured together) over the crisis after Macron's negotiations with Russian President Putin yesterday
Putin's comments came after lengthy negotiations with Macron (pictured, on February 7) over the crisis in Ukraine, which were described as 'constructive'
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock visits a Ukrainian village in Shyrokyne, the last large city in eastern Ukraine controlled by Kiev, today
Putin claimed his Moscow talks with President Emmanuel Macron were constructive but said: 'I want to stress it one more time,
'I've been saying it, but I'd very much want you to finally hear me, and to deliver it to your audience in print, TV and online.
'Do you understand it or not, that if Ukraine joins NATO and attempts to bring Crimea back by military means, the European countries will be automatically pulled into a war conflict with Russia?'
Putin warned: 'Of course the [military] potential of NATO and Russia are incomparable. We understand it.
'But we also understand that Russia is one of the leading nuclear states, and by some modern components it even outperforms many.
'There will be no winners. And you will be pulled into this conflict against your will.
'You won't even have time to blink your eye when you execute Article 5 (collective defence of NATO members)….
'Mr President Macron, of course, doesn't want this. And I don't want it. And I don't want it….which is why he is here, torturing me for six straight hours.'
Putin said that for 30 years Russia had tried to persuade the West against a NATO eastward move but there was 'just a complete disregard for our concerns, demands, and proposals'.
It comes after it emerged Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has 'no plans' to take part in the Munich Security Conference set to take place on February 18-20, Kommersant reported.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has already confirmed Putin will not attend the two day summit, an annual cross-Atlantic conference held in Munich since 1963 that focuses on international security issues.
Macron is the top Western leader to meet Putin since Moscow began massing troops near Ukraine. Western states say they fear Russia is preparing to invade; Moscow denies any such intention but says it could take unspecified military action unless a series of security demands are met.
Western leaders in recent weeks have engaged in multiple rounds of diplomacy in the hope of de-escalating the tensions and preventing an attack.
High-level talks have taken place against the backdrop of military drills in Russia and Belarus. On Tuesday, Russia's defence ministry said six large landing ships were moving from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea for exercises.
Macron said he did not expect Putin to make any 'gestures' on Monday, saying his objective was to 'prevent an escalation and open new perspectives... That objective is met.'
Macron said Putin 'set a collective trap' when he initiated the exchange of written documents with the US. Moscow submitted its demands to Washington in the form of draft agreements that were released to the public, and insisted on a written response, which was leaked to the press.
'In the history of diplomacy, there was never a crisis that has been settled by exchanges of letters which are to be made public afterwards,' he said, adding that is why he decided to travel to Moscow for direct talks.
Putin said after the meeting that the US and NATO ignored Moscow's demands, but signalled his readiness to continue talking.
NATO, US and European leaders flatly reject the demands that they say challenge NATO's core principles, such as shutting the door to Ukraine or other countries that might seek membership; but they have offered to talk about other Russian security concerns in Europe.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and French President Emmanuel Macron today held talks in Kiev over rising tensions with Russia amid fears of an invasion
Moscow has for weeks been massing tens of thousands of troops, tanks and artillery pieces along its eastern flank, sparking fears of an invasion, though the Kremlin has insisted it is merely a defence force (pictured, Russian forces currently massed in border regions)
The threats came after new footage emerged appearing to show Russia's deployment of 'unstoppable' Kinzhal nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles in the country's westernmost territory Kaliningrad, fewer than 800 miles from Britain.
Other video purports to show one of two MiG-31K deployed in western exclave Kaliningrad wedged between NATO countries Poland and Lithuania with a Baltic Sea coast, within striking distance of Ukraine and less than 800 miles from the UK.
The warplane is reported to be deployed with the new ultra high speed Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles.
The 24-foot-long, one-ton Kinzhal - or Dagger - can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, and Russia boasts it has no match among Western defences.
The hypersonic Kinzhal has a range of 1,250 miles and could pummel Ukrainian troops and defences without flying close to the country.
It appears that the MiG-31Ks capable of carrying the thousand-pound warheads were redeployed from Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow, to Chernyakhovsk air base in Kaliningrad region in recent days.
Russia is believed to have around 20 Kinzhal-compatible MiG-31Ks in total.
Ukrainian armed forces from the 14th Separate Mechanised Brigade carry out live fire exercises
US intelligence officials have warned of Russia being '70 per cent ready' to invade Ukraine and an intelligence report indicates Russia would be able to overrun Ukraine in just two days
A C-17 transport plane is prepared at Fort Bragg for deployment to Eastern Europe with members of the 82nd Airborne Division amid escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia
In the Black Sea, Russia's hi-tech Ivan Khurs intelligence ship was seen just 20 nautical miles from Ukrainian naval port Odessa amid fears that an invasion could include a maritime assault.
Russia has rejected the deployment of UN peacekeepers on the borders of rebel-held Donbas.
Senior diplomat Pyotr Ilyichev, head of the Russian foreign ministry's international organisations department, said: 'No, there is no need. Peacekeepers will not resolve anything in the intra-Ukrainian conflict.
'The Ukrainians need to talk to the LPR and DPR [the people's republics of Luhansk and Donetsk].'
Russia has said that upcoming trips to Moscow by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace are unlikely to improve relations.
Russian ambassador to London Andrei Klein said: 'So far I am not at all under the impression that this could be a step towards a better relationship, and I am basing this on the statements being made by both Liz Truss and Ben Wallace.'
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