Western arms deliveries heightening Ukraine tensions: Russia

Russia on Tuesday underlined the need for de-escalation on Ukraine as tensions, "rising day by day," are stoked further by Western arms deliveries.

"We see how Western countries are sending troops to Ukraine, sending planes loaded with weapons, sending military equipment, Ukraine is conducting maneuvers these days, testing new equipment that it receives," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a daily press conference in Moscow.

"All this, of course, provokes new and new turns of tension. Therefore, de-escalation is now very, very much in demand," Peskov said.

The West's unwillingness to take into account Russia's security concerns also does not help in easing tensions, he added.

"We don't feel and don't see the readiness of our Western counterparts to take into account our concerns," the spokesman said, adding that the issue of getting legally-binding security guarantees remains "open and the most important" for Russia.

Commenting on a proposal by France for Ukraine to have a neutral status, Peskov said the possibility of this would depend on Kyiv's actions and on the position of the US and NATO.

He also denied reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin was refusing to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, underlining that Putin was ready to meet with anyone to help settle the ongoing dispute.

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