AFP and Reuters reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday held a new telephone conversation with his US envoy, Anthony Blinken, on the practicalities of security in Europe.
“Sergei Lavrov stressed the unacceptability of the aggressive rhetoric used by Washington and its close allies, calling for practical dialogue on all issues raised by Russia,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Russian Foreign Minister also stressed the need for “continued cooperation” between Moscow and Washington to defuse tensions.
The US State Department has not yet commented on the new Lavrov-Blinken call. According to the EFE agency, the discussion took place at the request of the United States, and the two ministers discussed the agenda for further contacts at different levels between Moscow and Washington.
On Tuesday, Russia announced the withdrawal of some of its troops stationed on the Ukrainian border, raising fears of a possible invasion of Kiev and the West, with fears mounting in recent days by politicians and the Western media who say such a move is a step in the right direction. Immediate, the statements were classified by Russia as “hysterical” and “information terrorism”.
Western nations have welcomed the “positive” signal following the announcement of the withdrawal of the area. On the same day, however, Russian lawmakers voted to call on President Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of the two pro-Russian separatist republics of eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and Lukansk.
Russia has submitted a series of demands to the US and NATO on the European defense framework, including the unification of troops on the Ukrainian border, halting NATO expansion and the withdrawal of coalition troops from the Allied Powers after 1997. Washington, on the other hand, has proposed weapons reduction measures for Moscow and increased mutual confidence, such as confirming through studies that Tomahawk missiles are not available at missile shield sites in Russia, Romania and Poland.
While Western nations have threatened Russia with severe sanctions during the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has consistently denied such intentions. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Western nations had not responded positively to Russia’s demands for European security, but promised that he would continue negotiations and that Russia did not want war.
Speaking at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholes in Moscow, the Russian president stressed that he would not submit to NATO expansion and the deployment of assault weapons near Russia’s borders. Russia, for example, denies that US missile shields in Europe are strictly defensive.
For his part, Scholes said, “there are sufficient grounds for talks to be positive, and we must use these sites with Russia.”
Author: Liviu Kojan
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