Vladimir Putin has made clear to Joe Biden and Nato what he wants

The Russian president has put out a supposed diplomatic ‘ultimatum’ in the form of two draft security treaties, writes Mary Dejevsky

Vladimir Putin during his annual news conference in Moscow (AP)

In Russia’s recent relations with the west, Vladimir Putin’s patience seems to run out every seven years.

In 2007, seven years after he became interim president of Russia, he used a speech at the annual Munich Security Conference to denounce the expansion of Nato as a threat to Russia’s security and a betrayal of western assurances. Seven years later, in 2014, he responded to what Russia saw as a western-inspired uprising in Ukraine by snatching Crimea and incorporating it into Russia.

And now, seven years on again, he has put out a supposed “ultimatum” in the form of two draft security treaties, one for the consideration of the United States, the other for Nato.