Russia's Lavrov Says to Meet with Blinken Thursday
Russia's foreign minister said Monday that he would meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday in Geneva, as tensions soar over a feared Russian invasion of Ukraine.
During an emergency meeting of the Kremlin's security council, Sergei Lavrov said he had spoken with Blinken about Russian security demands and that a further meeting "is scheduled for February 24 in Geneva."
Lavrov said his US counterpart called him "a few days" after Russia responded to U.S. security proposals, saying he was "ready to meet and discuss" them.
Moscow has sought a binding Western assurance that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO, also demanding that the U.S.-led defense alliance roll back its forces from eastern Europe.
But Lavrov told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Western countries are "not ready to take in our central proposals, especially everything about the expansion of NATO eastwards".
He nonetheless said that dialogue with the West needs to continue.
"The start of a dialogue on any questions is justified by our preliminary steps on de-escalating (the situation) around Ukraine," he said.
The Ukraine crisis escalated sharply on Monday, with Moscow claiming it had killed five Ukrainian "saboteurs" that crossed onto its territory.
Kyiv denied the claim.
Source: Agence France Presse
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