Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is ready for talks with the U.S. and NATO on limits for missile deployments and military transparency, a second signal Tuesday of a potential tension release in the conflict between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

RELATED: Ukraine-Russia tensions: Why concerns of a Russian invasion are high https://youtu.be/MwgHSzz7StQ

Just hours earlier, Russia said it would send home some troops from military exercises, which have raised fears of an invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin said that while the U.S. and NATO rejected Moscow’s demand to keep Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations out of NATO, halt weapons deployments near Russian borders and roll back alliance forces from Eastern Europe, they have agreed to discuss some security measures already suggested by Russia.

Putin said Russia is ready to engage in talks on limiting the deployment of intermediate range missiles in Europe, transparency of drills and other confidence-building measures but emphasized the need for the West to heed Russia’s main demands.

» Subscribe to USA TODAY: http://bit.ly/1xa3XAh
» Watch more on this and other topics from USA TODAY: https://bit.ly/3sfrcht
» USA TODAY delivers current local and national news, sports, entertainment, finance, technology, and more through award-winning journalism, photos, videos and VR.