The United States assured Russia that this week it would submit its responses, Lavrov explained during his speech on Wednesday in the Government Hour space, during a plenary session of the State Duma (Lower House of Russia’s Parliament).

He stressed that any decision must proceed from the fact that the security of Russia and its citizens is an unconditional priority, and will be reliably protected in all circumstances.

Lavrov pointed out that Moscow will not let the West bring down Russia’s initiatives in endless discussions, which is why, depending on the answers and in conjunction with other ministries, the next steps to be taken will be put to the consideration of President Vladimir Putin.

The Foreign Minister said that the strategy of prolonging the discussions on the documents submitted by Russia “is clearly visible, especially in the attempts to drop this whole issue in the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe).”

According to Lavrov, said intention is also evident in the persistent calls from the European Union (EU) to be given a space in these discussions, something that, he said, “we are not going to allow, we are not going to let our initiative be bogged down”.

He recalled that the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, assured during the meeting in Geneva on January 21st that Washington would send Moscow “written answers article by article as soon as this week, explaining the position of the United States.

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