Mobilenews24x7 Bureau
Washington, Feb 18 : US Secretary of State and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov may hold a meeting next week, US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said. Minutes earlier, a reporter of The Washington Post tweeted that the Russian side had proposed dates for the meeting and Blinken had accepted them. “The Secretary noted in his remarks at the UN Security Council today that, because we believe the only responsible way to resolve this crisis is through diplomacy and dialogue, he had proposed to meet Foreign Minister Lavrov in Europe next week.
The Russians have responded with proposed dates for late next week, which we are accepting, provided there is no further Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Price said on late Thursday. He added that the United States would continue to coordinate efforts with its allies and partners, as well as push for further engagements with Moscow via the NATO-Russia Council and the OSCE. Western countries continue to allege that Russia is preparing an attack against Ukraine, citing a troop buildup on the border. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Tuesday that Moscow was withdrawing some of its forces from the border with Ukraine. On the same day, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Russian President Vladimir Putin that some drills with Belarus had ended while others were going on as planned. The joint Russia-Belarus drills are expected to finish up on Sunday. Russia has consistently denied any plans to invade Ukraine, stressing that its own security is jeopardized by NATO’s increasing presence near Russian borders.
With UNI Inputs
