Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said that "fundamental Russian concerns were ignored" by the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) over Ukraine.

At a press conference with visiting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow, Putin said Russia had not seen in the U.S. response "adequate consideration of our three key demands regarding (NATO's) expansion, the renunciation of the deployment of strike weapons systems near Russian borders, and the return of the (NATO) bloc's military infrastructure in Europe to the state of 1997, when the Russia-NATO founding act was signed."

"Ukraine itself is just a tool to reach this goal [to target Russia]. This could be done in various ways ... including by getting Russia involved in an armed conflict," Putin told reporters.

"Let's imagine that Ukraine is a NATO country and begins a military operation in Crimea, on Russia's sovereign territory. What, do we have to fight the NATO alliance? Did anyone think about that? Looks like no." 

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The Hungarian prime minister acknowledged the "serious" situation, but said a mutually acceptable agreement is "possible."

"The situation is serious, the differences are substantial," Orban said.

"But the existing differences in positions are bridgeable, it is possible to make such an agreement that both guarantees peace and Russia's security, and that is also acceptable for NATO members."

While the Russian president was meeting a European country's prime minister in the Kremlin, his foreign minister Sergey Lavrov held a phone call with his U.S. counterpart Anthony Blinken.

Blinken informed Lavrov of the U.S. "willingness, bilaterally and together with Allies and partners, to continue a substantive exchange with Russia on mutual security concerns, which we intend to do in full coordination with our partners and Allies," according to a statement issued by Ned Price, the U.S. State Department spokesman.

The top U.S. diplomat "reiterated the U.S. commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of all countries to determine their own foreign policy and alliances," the statement said.

Blinken also urged Russia to immediately de-escalate the tensions on Ukraine's borders by withdrawing its troops and equipment, emphasizing that a "further" Russian "invasion of Ukraine" will be met with "swift and severe consequences." He urged Russia to pursue a diplomatic path toward resolving the ongoing crisis.

Tuesday's phone call was meant to follow up on a written response last week from Washington addressing Moscow's security concerns. 

The document, according to Blinken, "includes concerns of the United States and our allies and partners about Russia's actions that undermine security, a principled and pragmatic evaluation of the concerns that Russia has raised, and our own proposals for areas where we may be able to find common ground."

In his comments after the call, Lavrov echoed Putin, saying Russian security concerns were "completely ignored" by the U.S. and NATO.

(With input from agencies; CGTN's Patrick Rhys Atack also contributed to the story.)

(Cover: Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference following talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow, Russia, February 1, 2022. /Pool via Reuters)