US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss a possible diplomatic path to resolving the Ukraine crisis, Spokesperson for the US Department of State Ned Price said in a press release on Saturday.
"Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today by phone to discuss acute and shared concerns that Russia may be considering launching further military aggression against Ukraine in the coming days," Price said in the press release.
According to the document, Blinken "made clear that a diplomatic path to resolving the crisis remained open, but it would require Moscow to deescalate and engage in good-faith discussions."
"He reiterated that should Moscow pursue the path of aggression and further invade Ukraine, it would result in a resolute, massive, and united Transatlantic response," Price said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a telephone talk with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday that the US propaganda campaign on Russia’s alleged aggression against Ukraine pursued provocative goals, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
"The minister stressed that the propaganda crusade on ‘Russia’s aggression’ against Ukraine unleashed by the United States and its allies pursued provocative goals, encouraging the Kiev regime to sabotage the Minsk agreements and undertake harmful attempts of resolving the ‘Donbass problem’ with the use of force," the ministry said.
Also, Lavrov told Blinken that the response by the US and NATO to Russia’s proposals on security guarantees ignored provisions fundamental for Moscow, first and foremost, the provisions that the alliance will not expand further and strike weapons will not be deployed near the Russian borders, the statement says.
"It was emphasized that these issues would be central in our assessment of the documents received from the US and NATO, which would be brought to the notice of our colleagues," the ministry said.
Lavrov also reminded Blinken that the actions violating the commitments of indivisible security in the Euro-Atlantic region undertaken at the highest level were inadmissible, the statement says.
The talk was held at the initiative of the US side, the ministry said.
