Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken meeting in GenevaWASHINGTON, 1 Feb. The telephone conversation between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov turned out to be «professional, quite frank» and lasted about half an hour, the media write, citing an unnamed representative of the State Department. Blinken indicated the US interest in continuing contacts with the Russian Federation both in a bilateral format and at the platforms of the Russia-NATO Council and the OSCE.US ignored Russia's fundamental concerns, Putin said «If President (RF Vladimir) Putin really does not intend to start a war or regime change (in Ukraine), then, as the Secretary of State told Foreign Minister Lavrov, it is time to withdraw troops and heavy weapons and start a serious discussion … which can strengthen collective European security,» the official was quoted by Reuters. Kiev and Western states have recently expressed concern over the alleged increase in «aggressive actions» by Russia near the borders of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying that it does not threaten anyone and does not intend to attack anyone, and claims of «Russian aggression» are used as an excuse to deploy more NATO military equipment near Russian borders.
The West is trying to forget about the principle of indivisibility of security, Lavrov saidThe Russian Foreign Ministry previously noted that the West's statements about «Russian aggression» and the possibility of helping Kiev defend itself against it are both ridiculous and dangerously. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is moving troops within its territory and at its own discretion. According to him, this does not threaten anyone and should not worry anyone. As Lavrov stated, Russia does not create any pretexts for a conflict situation around Ukraine. According to him, Russia does not rule out that the hysteria around Ukraine, hyped by the West, is aimed at covering Kiev's line of sabotaging the Minsk agreements on Donbass. According to Peskov, the information hysteria of the US and NATO over Ukraine is generously framed by lies and fakes.
