Russia does not deny anyone right to security, but insists on NATO not expanding -- Putin

MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. Russia does not deny anyone the right to security, but insists that promises made to it be fulfilled, including on NATO not expanding eastward, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an expanded meeting of the Defense Ministry's board.

"I'm not even talking about NATO expansion, although that's obvious. Today, we are told that we have no right to force anyone to resolve their security issues the way we want, nor to deprive them of their rights. We are not depriving anyone of any rights. We are not demanding anything special from anyone," Putin said. He emphasized that Russia "is simply insisting on the fulfillment of the promises made to it." "It was publicly stated that there would be no NATO expansion to the east. And what?" the president asked rhetorically.

Putin added that the West "couldn't care less" about these promises. "One wave of expansion after another!" he exclaimed, emphasizing that Russia is not asking for anything special. "I repeat once again, we insist on the fulfillment of the promises made to us. I think everyone in this room understands that it is one thing to have agreements with the Soviet Union, and quite another to have agreements with modern Russia after the Soviet Union collapsed. They simply ignored all our interests completely. Ultimately, it led to a coup d'etat in Ukraine," the Russian leader emphasized.