Russia keeps door open for more dialog over Ukraine, Moscow suggests

Russia has suggested that it is ready to continue negotiations with the West in an attempt to settle growing security tensions between Moscow and the US-led NATO over Ukraine.

In a televised exchange broadcast on Monday, Russian President was shown asking his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov whether there was still a chance of an agreement to address Kremlin’s security concerns, or whether Russia was just being dragged into endless talks.

“We have already warned more than once that we will not allow endless negotiations on questions that demand a solution today,” Lavrov told Putin, adding, “It seems to me that our possibilities are far from exhausted ... At this stage, I would suggest continuing and building them up.”

“There's always a chance,” Russia’s top diplomat said, adding that his respective ministry would not allow the US and its allies to stonewall Russia’s main requests.

Russia and the US-led NATO have recently been at odds over Ukraine. Western countries accuse Russia of preparing for an invasion of Ukraine by massing 100,000 troops and armaments near the border with that country. Rejecting the allegation, Moscow says the troop build-up is defensive as NATO has increased its activity near Russian borders.

Back in December last year, Moscow asked NATO not to allow Ukraine and other former Soviet countries to join the Western military alliance, and also to stop its military deployments to Ukraine and to roll back it forces from Eastern Europe, demanding legally binding guarantees.

The West, however, has flatly rejected the demands, emphasizing that the NATO membership will remain open to Ukraine.

Putin has already warned that the US is deliberately designing a scenario to lure Russia into a war over Ukraine, as the Kremlin has repeatedly reiterated that the expansion of the NATO military infrastructure in Ukraine constitutes a red line for Moscow and that any future expansion must exclude Ukraine and other former Soviet countries.

Ukraine official says Kiev may drop NATO bid; retracts statement after backlash

Ukraine may give up its ambition of joining the US-led NATO alliance in a bid to avert war, the country’s envoy to Britain has suggested, noting that Kiev is willing to be “flexible” on the issue.

In a BBC interview on Sunday, on being asked whether Kiev would be willing to forego plans to pursue membership of NATO, Ukraine Ambassador to the UK Vadym Prystaiko suggested that Kiev might give up its ambition of joining the US-led NATO alliance - one of Russia's primary concerns - in a bid to avert “war.”

However, he backtracked on his remarks but did say that other concessions could be on offer.

“We are not a member of NATO right now and to avoid war we are ready for many concessions and that is what we are doing in conversations with the Russians,” Prystaiko told the BBC in a clarification, adding, “It has nothing to do with NATO, which (membership application) is enshrined in the constitution.”

Moscow said if Kiev renounced its aspiration to join NATO, it would significantly help address Russia's concerns.

Kremlin: West’s warnings of imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine reach absurd levels

The Kremlin scoffs at the West

The anti-Russia sentiment instigated by the Western governments comes as Moscow on multiple occasions has rejected the US claims of a Russian invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly criticized the Western states for stoking tensions and called on them to avoid creating "panic" in the face of the Russian troop buildup on the country’s border. He has underlined that the panic-triggering alerts are placing a heavy burden on his country's economy.

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