MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a telephone talk with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday that the US propaganda campaign on Russia’s alleged aggression against Ukraine pursued provocative goals, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
"The minister stressed that the propaganda crusade on ‘Russia’s aggression’ against Ukraine unleashed by the United States and its allies pursued provocative goals, encouraging the Kiev regime to sabotage the Minsk agreements and undertake harmful attempts of resolving the ‘Donbass problem’ with the use of force," the ministry said.
Also, Lavrov told Blinken that the response by the US and NATO to Russia’s proposals on security guarantees ignored provisions fundamental for Moscow, first and foremost, the provisions that the alliance will not expand further and strike weapons will not be deployed near the Russian borders, the statement says.
"It was emphasized that these issues would be central in our assessment of the documents received from the US and NATO, which would be brought to the notice of our colleagues," the ministry said.
Lavrov also reminded Blinken that the actions violating the commitments of indivisible security in the Euro-Atlantic region undertaken at the highest level were inadmissible, the statement says.
The talk was held at the initiative of the US side, the ministry said.
The West and Kiev have recently been spreading allegations about Russia’s potential ‘invasion’ of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded," serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such allegations and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have very serious consequences.
