Russian FM Lavrov still sees a chance to talk to NATO and USA

Russia has carefully studied the response that it received from the United States and NATO regarding security guarantees, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

According to Lavrov, Moscow was not satisfied with the response from the United States to Russian proposals for security guarantees, the Foreign Minister said. However, there is always a chance to negotiate, he added.

The first part of USA's response on security guarantees did not satisfy Russia, whereas the second one was more constructive.

"We have repeatedly said — you have said this before, and other representatives of the Russian Federation have too — that we warn against endless conversations on the issues that need to be resolved today. Today, after all, being the head of the Foreign Ministry, I must say that there is always a chance,” the minister said.

Speaking about the problems in the negotiations, Lavrov noted that he did not receive specific answers from EU and NATO countries, as they had sent only collective answers, while Russia was addressing each country separately.

"I received unsatisfactory answers. None of my counterparts responded to my message. We received two pieces of paper — one from Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, and the other one from Borrell, the head of diplomacy of the European Foreign Service. The papers said: "You do not have to worry, we need to continue the dialogue, the main thing is to ensure de-escalation around Ukraine," Lavrov said.