Moscow not planning to invade Ukraine, says Russian FM Lavrov after meeting Blinken

Geneva [Switzerland], January 21 (ANI): Moscow is not planning to invade Ukraine and never threatened its people but it asked Washington to put pressure on Kiev to implement Minsk agreements, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov following the conclusion of his talks with his US counterpart Antony Blinken as the tensions mount over Moscow's heavy deployment of forces along its border with Ukraine, reported Sputnik.
"We discussed Ukraine today," said Blinken during the press conference here after his talks with Blinken on Friday.
"Our American colleagues once again tried to put the problems on the Russian-Ukrainian border at the forefront, tried to condition everything else on the need for so-called de-escalation," he added.
"We ended with an agreement that we will be provided with written answers to all our proposals next week," said Lavrov, "Russia heard the first verbal reaction from the United States to previous consultations on security guarantees."
Russia has never threatened the Ukrainian people and is not planning to invade Ukraine.
"You mentioned the statement that Ukraine does not pose any threat to Russia. I would like to once again remind those who are analyzing our position that Russia has nowhere and never threatened the Ukrainian people," Lavrov said, adding that Moscow calls on Washington to put pressure on Kiev so it implements Minsk agreements.
Lavrov also said that it would be right if the US responds to Russian security guarantees' proposals publicly. "I think it would be right to make this answer public. And I will ask Anthony Blinken that they agree to it," said Lavrov. (ANI)