NEW YORK, February 15. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to hold talks on security guarantees, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN.

"First of all, President Putin has always been demanding negotiations and diplomacy," he pointed out. "And actually, he initiated the issue of guarantees of security for the Russian Federation. And Ukraine is just a part of the problem, it’s a part of the bigger problem of security guarantees for Russia and of course President Putin is willing to negotiate," Peskov added.

The West and Kiev have recently been echoing allegations about Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine. 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. In late 2021, Moscow called on the US and NATO to sign legally binding documents on mutual security guarantees in light of the alliance’s attempts to use Ukraine’s territory for military purposes. Moscow expects NATO to stop its eastward expansion and impose restrictions on the deployment of serious offensive weapons to Ukraine. The parties have held several rounds of talks, which included a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. However, no agreements have been announced yet.