Russia envoy: Moscow may up the ante if West ignores demands

A senior Russian diplomat says that Moscow may take unspecified new measures to ensure its security if the U.S. and its allies continue to take provocative action and ignore its demand for guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine

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. Russia has denied it has plans to attack its neighbor but wants legal guarantees that would rule out NATO expansion and deploying weapons there.