Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto on Tuesday that he wants “immediate” talks with the United States and NATO over security guarantees, the Kremlin said, as tensions mount over Ukraine.

Putin “reiterated the need to immediately launch negotiations with the United States and NATO in order to develop international legal guarantees for the security of our country”, - the Kremlin said in a readout of the call.

It said Russia’s demands included stopping NATO from expanding east and the deployment of weapons in neighboring states, including Ukraine.

Putin also accused the Ukrainian leadership of increasingly using “heavy weapons and attack drones” against pro-Russia rebels in its separatist east.