Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed in a conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken the need to continue working together, as agreed by Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden in a conversation on February 12. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation reports this on Telegram.
“Lavrov emphasized the inadmissibility of aggressive rhetoric whipped up by Washington and its closest allies, calling for a pragmatic dialogue on the entire range of issues raised by Russia, with an emphasis on the principle of the indivisibility of security,” the agency said on February 15.
The Russian Foreign Ministry added that the heads of foreign affairs agencies discussed a schedule of upcoming contacts at various levels.
The conversation between Blinken and Lavrov took place on an American initiative, RT reports.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lavrov said Russia was seeing no progress in talks with the US and NATO on security guarantees. He recalled that Russia sent messages to the foreign ministers of European countries asking them to clarify how they understand a set of obligations called the principle of indivisibility of security.
He also said that Russia would soon publish its response to the US and NATO proposals on security guarantees, Zvezda TV channel reported.
On February 14, Putin and Lavrov discussed US and NATO responses on security assurances. The head of state conceptually approved the draft response of Russia, according to the website aif.ru.
On December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry published draft agreements between Russia, the United States and NATO on security guarantees. It follows from the documents that the alliance must renounce any military activity on the territory of Ukraine and other states of Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Also, Russia and NATO must pledge not to create conditions that can be regarded as a threat by the other side.
Negotiations on security guarantees were held in three stages in January. On January 10, a meeting of the Russian and US delegations took place in Geneva. On January 12, a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council was held in Brussels, and on January 13, consultations ended at the Vienna site of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
On January 26, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that Russia had received a written response to proposals for security guarantees. According to him, the alliance proposed to restore the diplomatic missions of the parties and the line of communication. In parallel, United States Ambassador John Sullivan handed over to Moscow a written response from Washington. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken elaborated that the replies transmitted set out “a serious diplomatic way forward.”
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
