Claims from US officials that Moscow has responded to America’s proposals on de-escalation in Ukraine are inaccurate, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced. It confirmed that the two sides are in talks about security in Europe but denied that a formal answer had been given.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Grushko told RIA Novosti on Tuesday that Russia is still preparing a “summary” response to Washington’s most recent proposals, and the US claim that it had received an answer “is not true.” He clarified that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had sent a message to the American State Department, but that this concerned the principle of indivisible security, not the details of the situation in Ukraine.
A spokesperson for the US side had previously told TASS that they had received “a written follow-up” from Russia, but they would not reveal its details because “it would be unproductive to negotiate in public.” He added that “we remain fully committed to dialogue to address these issues and will continue to consult closely with our allies and partners, including Ukraine.”