In Blinken Call, Lavrov Urges 'Pragmatic Dialogue'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday that Moscow urged "pragmatic dialogue" as the West looks for signs of a de-escalation over Ukraine.
"Lavrov emphasized the inadmissibility of the aggressive rhetoric whipped up by Washington and its closest allies, calling for pragmatic dialogue over the entire range of issues raised by Russia," the foreign ministry in Moscow said in a statement.
Lavrov also stressed that it was necessary to continue "joint work."
Western leaders said earlier Tuesday they were seeing positive signs that Russia was looking to ease tensions over Ukraine, after Moscow announced it was pulling back some of the troops deployed on its neighbor's borders.
After a meeting Tuesday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said Russia "of course" did not want war, and was willing to look for solutions with the West.
Source: Agence France Presse
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