MOSCOW, January 20. /TASS/. Moscow expects Washington to respond to its proposals on security guarantees in the coming days and does not mind getting a response next week, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Time is of the essence. We have said that we expect to receive it [a response] in the coming days, not necessarily tomorrow," he pointed out, commenting on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statement that he did not intend to hand a response over to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at their meeting in Geneva on January 21.

When asked if Russia would be okay with the Americans providing written documents next week, Peskov said "yes."

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier that Lavrov would meet with Blinken in Geneva on January 21. According to her, Lavrov and Blinken are expected to discuss further steps in terms of Moscow’s proposals on security guarantees.

On December 17, 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. Consultations on the 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.