Putin Says US, NATO Ignored Its Security Demands as Kremlin Rules Out War in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with university students at Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, on Jan. 25, 2022. Alexey Nikolsky/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images

The president of Russia said on Friday the United States and its NATO allies have ignored Moscow’s security demands, while a top Kremlin official said Russia does not want a war.

“There won’t be a war as far as it depends on the Russian Federation, we don’t want a war,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during an interview with local radio stations. “But we won’t let our interests be rudely trampled on and ignored.”