MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron there is no substantive response of the United States and NATO to Moscow’s initiatives on security issues, the Kremlin press service said.

"Vladimir Putin again drew attention to the lack of a substantive US and NATO response to the well-known Russian initiatives," according to the statement.

The Kremlin added that Putin and Macron held another exchange of views on ensuring long-term legal security guarantees for Russia.

"To continue the discussions held during the French president’s recent visit to Moscow, they held an in-depth exchange of views on the issues related to ensuring long-term legal guarantees for security of the Russian Federation and to breaking the impasse in resolving the intra-Ukrainian conflict, also taking into account Emmanuel Macron’s talks with the leadership of Ukraine, the United States and some European countries," the statement says.

The conversation was requested by Paris, the Kremlin added.

Putin and Macron held lengthy talks in Moscow on February 7. The next day, the French president traveled to Kiev to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky. After their talks, Macron announced his intention to hold another exchange of views with Putin by phone.

Talks on security guarantees for Russia

The West and Kiev have recently been spreading allegations about Russia’s potential ‘invasion’ of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded", serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such allegations and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have serious consequences.

Simultaneously, talks on pan-European security are underway. In December 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a draft agreement on security guarantees between Russia and the United States, and a draft agreement on ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states. On January 26, the US and NATO handed over their written responses to Moscow’s proposals. Putin said that in those responses Washington and Brussels disregarded Russia’s basic concerns. However, the Kremlin pointed out that there were some rational aspects in the Western proposals, but they were minor ones.