Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry told TASS.
The telephone call was initiated by the US side.
Lavrov called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to drop aggressive rhetoric in dialogue on security guarantees and demonstrate pragmatic approach to this topic, the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday after their telephone conversation.
"On our part, it was stressed that it is necessary to continue joint work, as was agreed by Presidents [of Russia Vladimir] Putin and [of the United States Joe] Biden during their telephone call on February 12, in the context of the US and NATO proposals on security guarantees," the ministry said. "Lavrov specially stressed the inadmissibility of aggressive rhetoric fanned by Washington and its closest allies and called for a pragmatic dialogue on the entire spectrum of issues raised by Russia, with a focus on the principle of indivisible security."
Blinken told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov by phone on Tuesday that opportunities for resolving the situation around Ukraine by peaceful means still exist, US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Tuesday.
"He [Blinken] underscored that we remain committed to the diplomatic path and believe that a window remains to resolve the crisis peacefully," the statement says.
According to the document, Blinken also emphasized the need to see "verifiable, credible, meaningful de-escalation."
The US top diplomat also said the United States "looks forward to receiving Russia’s written response to the U.S. and NATO papers" on security initiatives.
"He [Blinken] noted the Foreign Minister’s statement that it [Russia’s response] would be transmitted within the coming days," Price added.
Apart from that, the two top diplomats discussed a schedule of future contacts at various levels.
The drafting of Russia’s response to the United States and NATO about security guarantees is nearing completion, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.
"I would like to draw your attention to the fact that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov already answered this question today, saying that it [the response] will be published. The process of preparing the response is nearing completion. And yes, it will be published, just like the Russian foreign minister has said," Zakharova said in a video, posted on her Telegram channel.
