PUTIN’S NATO NIGHTMARE: In a news conference in Moscow after meeting with the leader of NATO ally Hungary, Russian President Vladimir Putin complained his demands are being ignored and that the West is trying to draw him into conflict as an excuse to levy crippling sanctions against the Russian economy.

“Their main task is to contain the development of Russia. Ukraine is simply a tool to achieve this goal. They could draw us into some kind of armed conflict and force their allies in Europe to impose the very tough sanctions that are being talked about in the United States today,” Putin said. “Or they could draw Ukraine into NATO, set up strike weapons systems there and encourage some people to resolve the issue of Donbas or Crimea by force, and still draw us into an armed conflict.”