Putin accuses US, allies of ignoring Russian security needs

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and MATTHEW LEE
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is accusing the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia’s top security demands but says Moscow is willing to talk more to ease tensions over Ukraine. The comments on Tuesday were his first on the standoff in more than a month and suggested a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine may not be imminent and that at least one more round of diplomacy is likely. Yet the two sides remain unyielding in their main positions, and there was little apparent hope for concessions. Russia is expected to respond soon to a U.S. proposal for negotiations on lesser Russian demands. After that, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will speak.