Russian President Vladimir Putin named the condition which would preclude Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said this during his press conference.
As Putin noted, Russia stands for the non-expansion of the NATO bloc to the East up to Russia's borders. According to him, the Kremlin's demands for non-inclusion in the Alliance of Ukraine "are not unusual".
"Is it us who put missiles near the U.S. borders? No, it's the States, that's on our doorstep. Is this an unnecessary requirement: not to install any percussion systems near our house? What's unusual here?" Putin said.
The Kremlin head demanded security guarantees from the West "immediately and right now". He believes that the West "has no right to demand guarantees from Russia".
According to him, the United States allegedly gave Russia "guarantees of NATO's non-expansion to the East" back in the 1990s.
"It's not the course of negotiations that matters to us, the result is important to us. Not a single inch to the East, that is what was told back in the 90s. And now what, we were deceived," Putin said.