Russia on Friday sent its strongest signal so far that it is willing to engage with U.S. security proposals and reiterated that it does not want war over Ukraine.
“If it depends on Russia, then there will be no war. We don’t want wars. But we also won’t allow our interests to be rudely trampled, to be ignored,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian radio stations in an interview.
Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops near the Ukrainian border as it presses demands for a redrawing of post-Cold War security arrangements in Europe.
The United States and its allies have warned President Vladimir Putin that Russia will face swift and tough economic sanctions if he attacks Ukraine.
Lavrov said the West was ignoring Russia’s interests but there was at least “something” in written responses submitted by the United States and NATO on Wednesday to Russia’s proposals.
Lavrov said he expected to meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken again in the next couple of weeks. Their last meeting, in Geneva on Jan.21, produced no breakthrough but both sides agreed to keep talking.
Lavrov said, without giving details, that the U.S. counter-proposals were better than NATO’s. Russia was studying them and Putin would decide how to respond.
The comments were among the most conciliatory that Moscow has made on the Ukraine crisis, which has escalated into one of the tensest East-West standoffs since the Cold War ended three decades ago.
CONFIDENCE MEASURES
While the U.S. and NATO responses have not been made public, both have stated they are willing to engage with Moscow on a series of topics, including arms control.