The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said that at the talks in Geneva, the American side tried to put the topic of Ukraine at the forefront of the entire negotiation process.Lavrov said that Russia has never threatened the Ukrainian people / photo REUTERS

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claims that Russia has never threatened the Ukrainian people.

According to TASS , he said this at a press conference in Geneva following talks with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

“Russia has never, nowhere, not once, through the mouths of its official representatives, threatened the Ukrainian people,” Lavrov says.

According to him, the United States will certainly mention the Ukrainian theme in its written responses to Russian proposals for security guarantees.

“Our American colleagues once again tried today to put Ukraine at the forefront of this entire (negotiation) process. It seemed to me that in the end, after our explanations, they, having retained their concerns, as they call them, nevertheless understood that they need to concentrate on content of our proposals, and it was promised, I emphasize once again, to provide us with a written response to our proposals next week.I am almost sure that somehow, one way or another, Ukraine will also sound there, but today I did not hear a single argument that would substantiate the American position on the issue of what is happening on the Russian-Ukrainian border. Only concerns, concerns, concerns,” Lavrov added.

Recall that on January 21, a meeting was held in Geneva between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov  against the backdrop of news about the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. The negotiations lasted only 1.5 hours. 

On the eve of Blinken, in a conversation with reporters, he confirmed that he  did not expect much breakthrough from a conversation with Lavrov, but it is important for the United States to hear what Russia decided on the results of the NATO summit last week.

Lavrov said the same before the start of the talks in Geneva, saying that Moscow was “waiting for a response from the United States on its security guarantees.”

What “safety guarantees” are you talking about?

On December 17, 2021,  the Russian Foreign Ministry published a draft agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States on “security guarantees”  and a draft agreement on measures to ensure the security of Russia and NATO member states. In particular, Russia suggests that NATO refuse to accept Ukraine into the Alliance, as well as “from any military activity on the territory of Ukraine.” The Russian Federation also offers the United States not to create military bases on the territory of the countries of the former USSR and not to accept these countries into NATO.

In this regard, on January 10, 2022,  a dialogue  on strategic stability between the United States and the Russian Federation was held in Geneva.

On January 12, 2022, a  meeting of the NATO-Russia Council was held in Brussels , at which security issues in Europe were discussed. After the meeting, NATO member countries called on the Russian Federation to immediately reduce tension in Ukraine and refrain from aggressive deployment of troops, and also called on Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine, including from Crimea. In addition, NATO member countries at a meeting with the Russian Federation confirmed the “open door” policy regarding the admission of new members. Also, all member countries stated that they would not refuse to deploy troops on the eastern borders of the Alliance.

On January 18, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the Russian Federation  could attack Ukraine at any moment .

On January 19, President of Ukraine  Volodymyr Zelensky urged to remain calm , cool head, self-confidence, in our army, in our Ukraine, “do not wind up ourselves, react to everything wisely, not emotionally, with your head, not with your heart, do not shout “everything is lost “but to know that everything is under control and everything is going according to plan.”

On January 19, US President Joe Biden said that a large-scale invasion of Ukraine  would be a disaster for Russia , as it would face serious consequences in the form of sanctions. According to him, in particular, Russian banks will not be able to conduct transactions in dollars. At the same time, Biden acknowledged that Russia has a significant military advantage over Ukraine and is likely to be able to win in the event of a large-scale conflict.

(C)UNIAN 2022