Russia ratchets up pressure on Europe, says ‘no grounds’ for further talks on security amid heightened tensions

BELGRADE, Serbia — A top Russian official said there were “no grounds” to continue security talks to defuse the crisis over Ukraine’s aim to join NATO — a rebuff to the West as part of a hardline blitz by Moscow envoys Thursday that ended in an impasse after days of high-stakes diplomacy.

The remarks by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov amped up the pressure on the Biden administration and its allies as they struggle find a path out from tensions between NATO and Russia and avert a potential new war in Europe.

This week’s flurry of meetings in Europe was seen as a critical bid by the United States and NATO partners amid fears Russia could launch a multipronged attack on Ukraine — a former Soviet republic whose government has built ties with the West, but is seen by Moscow as part of its sphere of influence.

Russian forces are massed near Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists in the east have battled the Kyiv government since 2014. Earlier that same year, Russia forcibly annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Russian officials have denied plans to attack Ukraine and rebuffed NATO calls to de-escalate, saying Russia has a right to move troops and forces on its own territory.

Russian officials have insisted during the week’s talks that NATO is threatening Russian security and warned repeatedly that Moscow will not accept anything less than the Western alliance’s agreement to abandon its open-door policy on membership.

Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded sweeping security guarantees from the United States and NATO, including a halt to any further expansion eastward by the alliance, a condition long ruled out by NATO officials.

In a rapid-fire series of statements from Kremlin and Foreign Ministry officials Thursday, Russia gave a sweeping thumbs down to the Western effort to ease tensions.

In quick succession, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Russia’s ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Alexander Lukashevich, all condemned the refusal of United States and NATO to accept Russia’s demands.

Ryabkov’s comments, coming even as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe was meeting in Vienna, undercut the group’s efforts to end the stalemate.

The Russian stance — which also includes an end to NATO operations in countries of Eastern Europe and former Soviet countries — would fundamentally reshape European security. It also reflects Putin’s attempt to rework the fallout of the collapse of the U.S.S.R., which left Russia weakened as NATO expanded.

The final decision on any further dialogue with the West rests with Putin. But it appears unlikely he would urge a continuation of talks against the advice of senior diplomats. Putin has accused NATO of aggression and threatened to find a “military-technical” solution if it does not stop.

» READ MORE: The U.S. and Russia are still far apart after talks about Ukraine tensions

Speaking on Russian television, Ryabkov said the United States and its allies have rejected Russia’s key demands — including its call to permanently block Ukraine and others from joining the alliance — offering to negotiate only on topics of secondary interest to Moscow.

“There is, to a certain extent, a dead end or a difference in approaches,” he said. Without some sign of flexibility from the United States, “I do not see reasons to sit down in the coming days, to gather again and start these same discussions.”

Ryabkov also refused to rule out sending Russian military infrastructure to Cuba or Venezuela if tensions with Washington continued to rise. In recent weeks, Ryabkov has warned the current duel with the West could turn into a Cuba missile crisis scenario, referring to the 1962 showdown that brought the world to the brink of a possible nuclear war.

Lavrov, who described the Western position as “arrogant, unyielding and uncompromising,” said that Putin would decide on further action after receiving written responses to Moscow’s demands next week.

In addition to calling the talks unsuccessful, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday highlighted a bill announced the day before by Democratic senators for tough new sanctions against Russians, including Putin, if there is military action against Ukraine.

Peskov called it “extremely negative, especially against the background of the ongoing series of negotiations, albeit unsuccessful, but negotiations.” Sanctioning a head of state “is an outrageous measure that is comparable to breaking off relations,” he said.

Peskov also accused the United States and NATO of escalating the conflict with efforts to “entice” new countries to join NATO.

Lukashevich, Russia’s ambassador to the OSCE, warned of “very dangerous trends.” He said Russia had not heard an adequate response to any of its proposals.

“We have forgotten how to listen and hear each other and how to reach agreements. There is a confrontation against Russia, and this is a big problem. I said clearly today that we have to abandon this vicious practice of seeing Russia as an enemy.”

OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid said after the OSCE meeting that the situation in the region remained “very perilous,” echoing the meeting’s opening remarks.

“It seems the risk of war in the OSCE area is now greater than ever before in the last 30 years,” the group’s Permanent Council chairman, Zbigniew Rau of Poland, said at the start.

Europe faces “a particularly grave threat to peace,” he added, and must cleave to its founding principles that states are equal and should not use military force or threats.

Thursday’s talks follow a meeting between U.S. and Russian officials in Geneva on Monday and a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council on Wednesday, the first of its kind in two years.

The OSCE plays a key role in Ukraine, monitoring a cease-fire under the Minsk peace deal that was designed to end the war in eastern Ukraine between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatists that has killed more than 13,000 people.

Russia denies any part in the war, calling it an “internal” Ukrainian conflict. The Minsk agreement has made no progress in ending the crisis and returning eastern Ukraine to Kyiv’s control. In recent years, the Kremlin has intervened by issuing passports to residents of eastern Ukraine, enabling them to vote in Russian elections.