Top Russian, US diplomats hold phone call on Ukraine issue

By Ali Cura

MOSCOW (AA) – The top Russian and US diplomats held a phone call on Saturday, a day after Washington warned a Russian invasion of Ukraine could come at any time.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that moves by the US and its allies on Ukraine pursued “provocative” goals, according to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement.

The US moves encourage authorities in Kyiv to make harmful attempts to sabotage the 2014 Minsk Protocol and resolve the Donbas conflict by force, Lavrov claimed, referring to an area of Eastern Ukraine plagued by conflict with pro-Russian separatists since 2014.

Washington and Brussels' response to draft agreements with NATO and security guarantees ignored key provisions for Russia, particularly non-enlargement of the alliance, he added.

He stressed during that these issues would be at the center of the evaluation of documents received from the US and NATO. Actions that violate the highest-level commitments on the indivisibility of security in the Euro-Atlantic region are unacceptable, he added.

The two also discussed bilateral relations.

Separately, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu also held a phone call with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin to discuss security and mutual interests, said Russia’s Defense Ministry.