Germany's new defense minister, Christine Lambrecht, said Sunday that NATO allies were open to addressing a range of requests made by Russia, which has massed troops along Ukraine's border but would not allow Moscow to "dictate" to the Alliance or its partners.
Lambrecht made the remarks during a visit to German troops stationed in Lithuania as part of NATO's forward operating presence - an initiative launched in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anuauskas, who accompanied Lambrecht on tour, dismissed Russia's Friday demands, claiming they were designed to divide NATO countries.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ryabkov has made a series of demands, including the withdrawal of NATO's forward operating battalions from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and explicit pledges that Ukraine and Georgia will never join NATO.
"We need to communicate with one another, which means discussing Russia's proposals," Lambrecht said during the visit. "However, Russia cannot dictate to NATO partners how they position themselves, and that is something we will make abundantly clear."
Lithuania's defense ministry afterward tweeted: "We must make it abundantly clear that Russia has no authority to dictate how NATO members should behave." Anuauskas and Lambrecht "agreed that [Russia's] demands are intolerable," the statement stated. Such demands serve only to split the Alliance's solidarity."
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has consistently rejected Russia's demands that Ukraine and Georgia be banned from the Alliance, stating that Moscow has no authority to determine who joins.
"We support all countries' right to independently determine their own future and foreign policy," NATO said in a statement this week. "NATO's relations with Ukraine are a bilateral concern between Ukraine and the 30 NATO Allies. We categorically reject any attempt to split the Alliance's security."
Lambrecht advocated for sanctions against Putin and his close circle in a Sunday interview with Bild's newspaper.
She stated that NATO partners "must utilize the full complement of instruments available to us." At the moment, we must concentrate our efforts on Putin and those who surround him. Individuals who commit acts of aggression must bear the personal consequences."
The United States and the European Union have both vowed to slap "high-impact" sanctions on Russia in the case of a "military escalation" against Ukraine.
In an interview with Russian news agency Interfax, Ryabkov backed Russia's demands. He stated that they were not an "ultimatum," but added that "the gravity of our warning should not be underestimated."
