Putin says U.S ‘ignored’ complaints

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country’s main complaints about the ongoing Ukraine crisis “had been ignored”

The President says his government has studied the responses from the United States and NATO, after weeks of remaining tight-lipped about the situation.

But he has conceded that a solution to the crisis is “not simple,” and says the US is using it as “tool” to contain Russia.

Putin spoke after a five-hour meeting with Hungary’s Prime Minister on Tuesday, where he took aim at the US for not considering his three key demands.

Russia has previously asked for NATO’s expansion to be halted, the abandonment of strike weapons systems near Russian borders, and the return of the NATO’s military infrastructure in Europe to the state of 1997.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held phone talks with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an attempt to diffuse ongoing tensions.

The US State Department confirmed they had received a written followup from Russia, after they sent a list of proposals to the Kremlin last week.