Russia’s top diplomat demanded on Monday that Russian defence officials be included in upcoming talks with Nato over the security guarantees it seeks from the West.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, last week signalled Russia’s willingness to sit down for talks with the US and Nato amid a worrying escalation over Ukraine that saw Russia amass about 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border.

Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s defence minister, said in a televised interview on Monday that it was waiting for Nato to respond to its conditions ahead of the talks that include involving defence officials in the discussions.

“We have said the conversation will make sense only with the direct participation of the military,” Mr Lavrov said.

Talks with US officials are due “right after the New Year’s Eve” while Moscow waits to hear from Nato to agree on the ground rules including involving defence officials, he said.

Asked about the threat of crippling Western sanctions in case of a Russian invasion, Mr Lavrov said he viewed North Korea-style sanctions against his country as an “implausible scenario” but added that “Russia is not going to change its way of life just because the West is angry.”

Russia’s top diplomat reiterated President Putin’s claim that the West is egging on Ukraine to prove Russia militarily to “put the blame on us and slap us with more sanctions to suppress our competitive capabilities.”

The Kremlin earlier last month spoke of an unspecified military response if the West remains deaf to its security concerns.

Moscow released a draft security agreement with Nato and the US earlier last month that calls on them to commit to bar Ukraine and other former Soviet nations from accessing Nato and promising not to deploy any troops and weapons there.

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, on Sunday described a Nato membership for Ukraine as a “matter of life and death” for Russia which views Western presence in that country as an existential threat.

In a move viewed as Moscow’s attempt to de-escalate, the Russian military said on Saturday it was withdrawing about 10,000 troops from near Ukraine. More troops and equipment, however, remain within 200 kilometres of the border.

The Defence Ministry said on Monday that 1,000 troops and hi-tech equipment have taken part in snap drills simulating a response to a “massive air strike” on Russia.

A missile defence unit as well as troops with portable grenade launchers have successfully repelled an air raid and a mock ballistic missile attack, the military said.

The foreign minister of Turkey, a rare Russian ally in Nato, said on Monday his country was willing to mediate between the military alliance and Russia in order to defuse the tensions in Europe.

“No one benefits from a conflict in our region,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a televised news conference.