After Washington threatened Moscow that it might invade Ukraine next month, Russia’s foreign minister stated that the country does not want to go to war.
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russian media that the Kremlin was not seeking a confrontation with Kyiv, but that Moscow would not allow its security interests to be ignored.
“As far as the Russian Federation is concerned, there will be no conflict; we do not desire a war,” he stated in a live interview with Russian radio stations.
Lavrov claimed that the West was ignoring Russia’s interests, but that the written reply to Russia’s proposals was submitted by the US and NATO on Wednesday.
The US and NATO reacted on Thursday to Russia’s broad security requests, which were made in December as Moscow ramped up soldiers near the Ukrainian border. First and foremost, Russia wants NATO to agree to permanently barring Ukraine from joining the alliance.
Both have declared that they are willing to engage with Moscow on arms control and confidence-building measures, though their responses have not been made public. They have ruled out giving in to other demands, such as allowing Ukraine to join NATO at any time.
Meanwhile, as per reports, Russia has massed over 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s border, stoking fears of a regional war. Russia has denied any plans for an invasion, but the US and its NATO partners believe Russia is preparing for conflict, and Russia’s foreign minister hinted that the country does not want to go to war after Biden threatened to invade Ukraine next month.
