Moscow threatened retaliation against the West

“We will not allow our plans and demands to end in endless discussions, and such a line is clearly visible, we will not allow our initiative to end,” Lavrov told IRNA in Moscow, according to Moscow. .

“If there is no constructive response and the West continues its aggressive course, Moscow will take the necessary retaliatory measures, as our president has repeatedly stated,” the Russian foreign minister said.

Lavrov also said that in talks with the leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, Putin had agreed to expand cooperation in all areas, including military-technical cooperation.

At the end of 2021, Russia released a draft treaty with the United States and an agreement with NATO on security guarantees. Moscow, in particular, is seeking legal guarantees from its Western partners to refuse to further expand NATO to the east, to join the Ukrainian bloc and to establish military bases in post-Soviet countries. The proposals also include the non-deployment of NATO strike weapons near Russia’s borders and the withdrawal of Allied forces from Eastern Europe to the 1997 positions.
The first meeting between the Russian Federation and the United States to discuss Russian initiatives was held on January 10 at the level of Deputy Foreign Ministers. This was followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels and a consultation on the OSCE website in Vienna.

Following the talks, Lavrov and Blinken held talks in Geneva on 21 January. Lavrov said after talks with the US Secretary of State that Washington had promised to respond to Russia ‘s proposals on security guarantees this week.