MOSCOW, January 18. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed in a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday the imperative for Washington to provide concrete replies ‘on paper’ to Russia’s security proposals shortly.

"Sergey Lavrov again highlighted fundamental aspects in the drafts of a bilateral agreement with the United States and an agreement with NATO handed over by us earlier that layout legal guarantees of ensuring Russia’s security as part of the principle of indivisible security approved by all the Euro-Atlantic countries. On our part, an imperative was reaffirmed for Washington to provide concrete article-by-article comments ‘on paper’ on the afore-mentioned documents as soon as possible," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The sides continued exchange of opinions, taking into account the results of the negotiations between the Russian and US inter-agency delegations in Geneva on January 10, Russia-NATO and Russia-OSCE discussions, the statement reads.

"In the context of the situation in southeastern Ukraine, the minister called on the Secretary of State not to indulge in speculation over the alleged ‘Russian aggression’ in the making and instead make the Ukrainian authorities implement the Minsk Accords in full," the Russian diplomatic agency stressed.

Lavrov and Blinken also discussed the possibilities of continuing contacts soon, the ministry said.

The telephone talk was held at the initiative of the US side.

Security guarantees

The West and Kiev have recently been spreading allegations about Russia’s potential ‘invasion’ of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded," serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such allegations and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have very serious consequences.

On December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a draft agreement on security guarantees between Russia and the United States and a draft agreement on ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states. Russia-US consultations on this issue took place in Geneva on January 10, followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels on January 12 and a session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council in Vienna on January 13.