Russia threatens to up the ante if West ignores its demands : NPR

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov outlined Moscow's demands for security guarantees excluding NATO's membership for Ukraine and other Russian neighbors and the deployments of weapons there.MOSCOW — Russia may take unspecified new measures to ensure its security if the U.S. and its allies continue to take provocative action and ignore Moscow's demand for guarantees precluding NATO's expansion to Ukraine, a senior diplomat said Saturday.Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused Western allies of continuously pushing the envelope in relations with Russia, and warned that Moscow could also up the ante if the West doesn't treat its demands seriously.Ryabkov's statement in an interview with the Interfax news agency came a day after Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back the alliance's military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe — bold ultimatums that are almost certain to be rejected by the U.S. and its allies.The publication of the demands — contained in a proposed Russia-U.S. security treaty and a security agreement between Moscow and NATO — comes amid soaring tensions over a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine that has raised fears of an invasion. The Russian troop buildup near Ukraine has fueled Ukrainian and Western fears of an invasion, but Moscow has denied planning such an attack."They have been extending the limits of what's possible" regarding Russia, Ryabkov told Interfax in response to a question about the Western threat of tough new sanctions against Moscow."But they fail to consider that we will take care of our security and act in a way similar to NATO's logic and also will start extending the limits of what is possible sooner or late," Ryabkov said.