“A face-to-face meeting (between Lavrov and Blinken) is not planned, but there will be a telephone interview on Tuesday,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova. The two had a conversation in Geneva ten days ago, after which both indicated that they would soon be in contact again.
The West estimates that at least 100,000 Russian soldiers have been assembled on the Ukrainian border since the end of 2021. The United States and NATO fear that Russia will invade Ukraine. Moscow denies having plans to invade, but feels threatened by NATO expansion and Western aid to Ukraine.
Russia wants an end to the alliance’s expansion policy, no Ukrainian membership, and a return to Western military deployment at the borders of 1997. The US and NATO rejected Moscow’s demands, but said they were willing to negotiate.