Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov revealed on Monday that NATO poses a “serious threat”. in Russia, And that the positions of the West risk “a direct confrontation between the nuclear powers which will have harmful consequences”.
Lavrov also expressed regret over the US refusal to hold talks with Moscow on “strategic stability” on a number of nuclear weapons issues.
He said that without direct talks between the world’s two major nuclear powers, the threat to global security will increase.
These statements came after Moscow rejected US President Joe Biden’s terms for negotiations on Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was not ready to start talks if Washington’s condition was for Russia to leave Ukraine.
Peskov also called on the United States to agree to Russia keeping the Ukrainian lands it occupied, while Putin on Friday denounced Western “destructive” policies in support of Kiev, and told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that intensified Russian attacks to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are “necessary and inevitable.”
From the outskirts of Kiev (Reuters)
Open to negotiations
The Kremlin spokesman said that President Vladimir Putin will continue the military operation in Ukraine, but at the same time is open to negotiations.
Peskov’s statement came on a conference call, in response to a question about US President Joe Biden’s statement on the possibility of holding talks with Putin if Russia withdraws from Ukraine.
US President Biden had said he would talk to his Russian counterpart about the war in Ukraine if Putin is serious about ending the military operation, after previously saying Ukrainian leaders could decide when to hold peace talks.
