Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed on Feb. 21 that Russia did not ask the U.S. to withdraw troops from NATO's eastern flank during talks in Saudi Arabia.
The spokesperson said this in reaction to an article by the Financial Times claiming that during the talks in Riyadh on Feb. 18, Russian delegates demanded the NATO rollback as a condition for "normalizing relations."
"No, this is not true," Peskov told journalists when asked about the claims, the state new agency TASS reported.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
"Our stance on the expansion of NATO's military infrastructure over several waves toward our borders is a cause of concern for us. This position is well known; it is no secret to anyone," Peskov added.
The U.S. delegation reportedly rejected the demand, but concerns remain over what concessions President Donald Trump might consider to secure a deal with Russia on ending its war against Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin frequently claims that NATO poses a threat to Russia, accusing the alliance of seeking to expand its borders eastward. Moscow has repeatedly used Ukraine's possible entry into NATO as one of the justifications for launching its full-scale invasion.
Russia previously demanded the NATO rollback from its eastern flank during unsuccessful talks in late 2021 that were meant to stave off the impending full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The alliance rejected the demand at the time.
Chris York
