Kremlin says no ultimatums, but Russia needs concrete answers on security

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia was ready to negotiate directly with Ukraine provided existing agreements were fulfilled. Peskov said live-fire exercises with troops and tanks that Russian forces held near the Ukrainian border on Tuesday were not linked to the NATO talks.

Russia is not making ultimatums in its negotiations with the West but needs concrete answers regarding its security concerns, the Kremlin said on Wednesday as talks take place with NATO in Brussels. Russia was set to lay out its demands for security guarantees in Europe to NATO's 30 allies following intense talks with the United States in Geneva that showed the two sides have major differences to bridge.

The meetings are part of an effort to defuse the worst East-West tensions since the Cold War, triggered primarily by a confrontation over Ukraine, which the United States says Russia may be planning to invade. Moscow dismisses such claims. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia was ready to negotiate directly with Ukraine provided existing agreements were fulfilled.

Peskov said live-fire exercises with troops and tanks that Russian forces held near the Ukrainian border on Tuesday were not linked to the NATO talks.