俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京周日表示，如果西方无法满足他的安全保证要求，阻止北约向俄罗斯扩张，他将考虑一系列选择乌克兰。
本月早些时候，莫斯科提交了安全文件草案，要求北约拒绝乌克兰和其他前苏联国家加入，并撤回其在中欧和东欧的军事部署。
最近几周，俄罗斯在乌克兰附近集结军队引发了紧张局势，加剧了西方对乌克兰可能入侵的担忧，在此背景下，克里姆林宫提出了自己的安全要求。美国总统拜登本月早些时候在视频通话中警告普京，如果俄罗斯袭击乌克兰，将面临“严重后果”。
俄罗斯否认了发动入侵的意图，并反过来指责乌克兰策划了试图用武力夺回莫斯科支持的叛军控制的领土的计划。乌克兰拒绝了这一要求。
普京敦促西方迅速采取行动满足他的要求，并警告说，如果西方继续“在我们家门口”采取“侵略性”路线，莫斯科将不得不采取“足够的军事技术措施”
当被问及莫斯科的具体回应时，他在俄罗斯国家电视台周日播出的评论中表示，“这可能是多种多样的”，并补充说，“这将取决于我们的军事专家向我提交什么建议。”
美国及其盟友拒绝向俄罗斯提供普京想要的那种对乌克兰的保证，理由是北约的原则是任何有资格的国家都可以加入。他们同意了。不过，将于下月与俄罗斯展开安全会谈，讨论其担忧。
普京说，与美国的会谈将在日内瓦举行。与此同时，俄罗斯和北约也将举行谈判，预计将在欧洲安全与合作组织的主持下进行更广泛的讨论。
在周日播出的讲话中，普京表示，俄罗斯提交这些要求是希望西方做出建设性的回答。
“我们这么做不仅仅是为了看到它被封锁...而是为了达成一个谈判达成的外交结果，这个结果将被固定在具有法律约束力的文件中，”普京说。
他重申，乌克兰加入北约或部署联盟武器对莫斯科来说是一条红线，不允许西方越过。
“我们无处可退，”他说，并补充说，北约可以在乌克兰部署导弹，只需四五分钟就能到达莫斯科。“他们把我们推到了一条我们无法跨越的线上。他们已经到了我们必须告诉他们的地步;住手!"
他表示担心，美国及其盟友可能会试图拖延安全谈判，并以此为掩护，在俄罗斯附近进行军事集结。
他指出，俄罗斯公布其安全要求是为了让公众了解这些要求，并向美国及其盟友施加压力，要求他们就安全协议进行谈判。
普京的发言人佩斯科夫在周日播出的讲话中说，北约向乌克兰或其他前苏联国家的扩张“对我们来说是生死攸关的事情”
他指出，周五俄罗斯锆石高超音速导弹的试射将有助于俄罗斯争取安全保障的努力“更有说服力”
周五的发射是锆石系列测试的最新一次，普京表示锆石能够以9倍音速飞行至1000多公里(620英里)的范围。它们标志着锆石导弹首次齐射发射，表明在新导弹明年与俄罗斯海军一起服役并装备其巡洋舰、护卫舰和潜艇之前，测试已经完成。
佩斯科夫周日还指出，普京早些时候警告称，乌克兰对叛军控制地区的进攻将对乌克兰的国家地位带来“严重后果”，并补充称，“他们在基辅很清楚这一点，在华盛顿也很清楚。”
俄罗斯于2014年吞并了乌克兰的克里米亚半岛，并在不久后支持了该国东部的分离主义叛乱。在七年多的时间里，这场战斗已经造成超过14，000人死亡，摧毁了乌克兰的工业中心地带——顿巴斯。
Putin to mull options if West refuses guarantees on Ukraine
MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday he would ponder a slew of options if the West fails to meet his push for security guarantees precluding NATO's expansion to Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back its military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Kremlin presented its security demand amid tensions over a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine in recent weeks that has fueled Western fears of a possible invasion. U.S. President Joe Biden warned Putin in a video call earlier this month that Russia will face “severe consequences” if it attacks Ukraine.
Russia has denied an intention of launching an invasion and, in its turn, accused Ukraine of hatching plans to try to reclaim control of the territories held by Moscow-backed rebels by force. Ukraine has rejected the claim.
Putin has urged the West to move quickly to meet his demands, warning that Moscow will have to take “adequate military-technical measures” if the West continues its “aggressive” course “on the threshold of our home.”
Asked to specify what such Moscow's response could be, he said in comments aired by Russian state TV Sunday that “it could be diverse,” adding that “it will depend on what proposals our military experts submit to me.”
The U.S. and its allies have refused to offer Russia the kind of guarantee on Ukraine that Putin wants, citing NATO’s principle that membership is open to any qualifying country. They agreed. however, to launch security talks with Russia next month to discuss its concerns.
Putin said the talks with the U.S. will be held in Geneva. In parallel, negotiations are also set to be held between Russia and NATO and broader discussions are expected under the aegis of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
In remarks broadcast Sunday, Putin said Russia submitted the demands in the hope of a constructive answer from the West.
“We didn't do it just to see it blocked ... but for the purpose of reaching a negotiated diplomatic result that would be fixed in legally binding documents," Putin said.
He reaffirmed that NATO membership for Ukraine or the deployment of alliance weapons there is a red line for Moscow that it wouldn't allow the West to cross.
“We have nowhere to retreat,” he said, adding that NATO could deploy missiles in Ukraine that would take just four or five minutes to reach Moscow. “They have pushed us to a line that we can't cross. They have taken it to the point where we simply must tell them; ‘Stop!’"
He voiced concern that the U.S. and its allies could try to drag out the security talks and use them as a cover to pursue a military buildup near Russia.
He noted that Russia published its security demands to make them known to the public and raise the pressure on the U.S. and its allies to negotiate a security deal.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in remarks broadcast Sunday that NATO's expansion to Ukraine or other ex-Soviet nations is “a matter of life or death for us.”
He noted that Friday's test-firing of Russia's Zircon hypersonic missiles would help make Russia's push for security guarantees “more convincing.”
Friday's launches were the latest in a series of test of Zircon, which Putin said is capable of flying at nine times the speed of sound to a range of more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). They marked the first time Zircon missiles were launched in a salvo, indicating the completion of tests before the new missile enters service with the Russian navy next year and arms its cruisers, frigates and submarines.
Peskov on Sunday also pointed at Putin's earlier warning that a Ukrainian offensive against the rebel-held territories would entail “grave consequences” for Ukraine's statehood, adding that “they know it well in Kyiv and they know it well in Washington.”
Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and shortly after threw its support behind a separatist rebellion in the country’s east. Over more than seven years, the fighting has killed over 14,000 people and devastated Ukraine’s industrial heartland, known as the Donbas.
