Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow “has run out of patience” in anticipation of the West’s response to the Kremlin’s demands for “security guarantees”, in connection with which Russia is waiting for a written response within a week.
Lavrov said this at his annual foreign policy press conference on January 14 after diplomatic talks with NATO and the US failed to make progress due to a Russian troop buildup on the border with Ukraine.
“Our patience has run out. We are very patient. But you know that we “harness” for a long time? We have been harnessing for a very long time, it’s time for us to go already … We are waiting for a response from our colleagues, written answers, put on paper, as we did when we made our proposals. But in the meantime, of course, we will continue to work to ensure that we are ready for any development of events,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov said the Kremlin would not wait “indefinitely” for a Western response to Moscow’s demands that NATO not expand eastward and deploy troops in Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union.
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the West of increasing tension, “violating commitments and common sense.”
Lavrov’s comments came a day after the White House said the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine remains high, with about 100,000 Russian troops deployed.
“The threat of a military invasion is high,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on January 13, while US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Michael Carpenter said after talks with Russia in Vienna that Russia could fabricate sabotage reason for the invasion of Ukraine.
Diplomats slammed a week of high-level talks with meetings between Washington and Moscow, as well as separate rounds of discussions with NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), amid Western concerns that a Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine could be a prelude to invasion.
Washington and its allies have strongly rejected Moscow’s demand for “security guarantees” to rule out NATO expansion and warned of “consequences” if Russia resumes its aggression against Ukraine.
Russia and the West also agreed to leave the door open for possible further arms control talks.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbok said on January 14 that she would travel to Moscow next week for talks on the crisis in Ukraine, although she acknowledged that a quick solution was unlikely to be found.
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