Lavrov Says Discussed Ukraine With Blinken

GENEVA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2022) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that he discussed the situation in Ukraine during a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

"We discussed Ukraine today. Our American colleagues once again tried to put the problems on the Russian-Ukrainian border at the forefront, tried to condition everything else on the need for so-called de-escalation ... But we ended with an agreement that we will be provided with written answers to all our proposals next week," Lavrov told reporters, adding that Russia heard the first verbal reaction from the United States to previous consultations on security guarantees.

The foreign minister also said that Russia has never threatened the Ukrainian people and is not planning to invade Ukraine.

"You mentioned the statement that Ukraine does not pose any threat to Russia. I would like to once again remind those who are analyzing our position that Russia has nowhere and never threatened the Ukrainian people," Lavrov said, adding that Moscow calls on Washington to put pressure on Kiev so it implements Minsk agreements.