MOSCOW, 19 November 2021, (TON): President Vladimir Putin said that the West was taking Russia's warnings not to cross its "red lines" too lightly and that Moscow needed serious security guarantees from the West.

In a wide-ranging foreign policy speech, the Kremlin leader also described relations with the United States as unsatisfactory but said “Russia remained open to dialogue with Washington.”

The Kremlin said in September that NATO would overstep a Russian red line if it expanded its military infrastructure in Ukraine, and Moscow has since accused Ukraine and NATO of destabilising behaviour, including in the Black Sea.

In the televised speech, Putin complained that Western strategic bombers carrying "very serious weapons" were flying within 20 km (12.5 miles) of Russia's borders.

Putin said "we're constantly voicing our concerns about this, talking about red lines, but we understand our partners - how shall I put it mildly - have a very superficial attitude to all our warnings and talk of red lines.”

Putin said “NATO with which Moscow severed ties last month had destroyed all mechanisms for dialogue.”

He told foreign ministry officials that Russia needed to seek long-term guarantees of its security from the West, though he said this would be difficult and did not spell out what form the assurances should take.