As Russian President Vladimir Putin responded Wednesday to NATO provocations along his nation’s western frontier by warning that his country reserves the right to defend itself, peace advocates stressed the need for US self-awareness and restraint in order to avoid a “new Cold War.”<\/p>\n
Following US vows to “stand up for Ukraine” – including by sending combat troops<\/a> and sanctioning Moscow<\/a> – in the event of Russian aggression, Putin said during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that “Russia has a peaceful foreign policy, but has the right to defend its security,” according to<\/a> Agence France-Presse<\/em>.<\/p>\n The remarks were Putin’s first in public since he and US President Joe Biden met during a two-hour virtual summit <\/a>on Tuesday. US leaders are alarmed by Russia’s concentration of troops<\/a> within striking distance of eastern Ukraine, where pro-Moscow separatists have been fighting government forces since 2014.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Putin is seeking a guarantee that NATO will not expand further eastward, as it has done nine times<\/a> since 1999. He called NATO enlargement a “very sensitive” issue for his country and “one of the key questions in preserving Russia’s security,” while citing the Biden administration’s “open door”<\/a> policy of potential membership for Ukraine and Georgia – both of which border Russia and were former Soviet republics – as cause for alarm.<\/p>\n Regardless of what Putin says, the United States would benefit from ruling out a defense commitment to Ukraine, opposing sending missiles and troops there, and working diplomatically to implement the Minsk agreements to resolve the Donbas conflict. These are not concessions.<\/p>\n — Stephen Wertheim (@stephenwertheim) December 7, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n