WASHINGTON, January 30. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are likely to have more talks next week, Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, said in an interview with CBS on Sunday.
According to Nuland, Washington sees signs indicating that Moscow is interested in discussing the United States’ responses to Russia’s proposals on security guarantees. "We've heard some signs that the Russians are interested in engaging on that proposal, including the fact that Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Lavrov will likely speak this week," she said.
"We want to settle these issues through diplomacy, through arms control. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has given himself that option, but he has also given himself the option of a major invasion [in Ukraine]. So we have to be ready for that, too," she claimed.
When aske whether there are any signs of de-escalation on the part of Russia, she said, "On the contrary, he [Putin] has moved more forces since we've been encouraging him to de-escalate."
Blinken said on Wednesday he expects contacts with Lavrov as soon as Moscow analyzes the United States’ responses to its security proposals.
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. The proposed measures include guarantees that NATO will not advance eastward, including the accession of Ukraine and other countries into the alliance, as well as non-deployment of serious offensive weapons, including nuclear ones.
The sides have had several rounds of consultations in various formats but no agreements have yet been announced. On Wednesday, the US side handed over its written response to Russia’s proposals.
Recently, Western and Ukrainian media outlets have been echoing claims about Russia’s possible aggression against Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier slammed such statements as "empty and groundless" and their goal is to whip up tensions. He stressed that Russia doesn’t pose any threat to anyone, but did not rule out possible provocations to justify the remarks in question and warned that attempts at using force to settle the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have the most serious consequences.