Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. 

According to the department, during the conversation, the minister stressed that the propaganda campaign about “Russian aggression” against Ukraine was launched by the United States and its allies with provocative goals and encourages the Kiev authorities to sabotage the Minsk agreements and try to use force to resolve the Donbass problem.

Lavrov pointed out that the response of Washington and NATO to the proposals on security guarantees submitted by Moscow ignores the key provisions for Russia, "primarily on the non-expansion of the alliance and the non-deployment of strike weapons systems near Russian borders."

“These issues will be at the center of our assessment of the documents received from the US and NATO, which will be brought to the attention of colleagues,” the department stressed.

Lavrov also pointed to the inadmissibility of actions that violate the obligations of the indivisibility of security in the Euro-Atlantic area.

As Aleksey Polishchuk, Director of the Second Department of the CIS countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry, noted, the Minsk agreements remain the only basis for resolving the situation in Ukraine.

The diplomat recalled that the agreements were approved by the UN Security Council, in connection with which they are part of international law and are binding.

Polishchuk also expressed concern that weapons provided to Ukraine by a number of Western countries could end up on the black market.

“According to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, it already amounts to about 5 million units, which can easily end up anywhere, including in the NATO countries themselves,” he told RIA Novosti.

As Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted the day before, the military-political situation on the European continent is becoming increasingly tense.

The minister suggested that Western countries contribute to the normalization of the situation in Europe and stop "stuffing" Ukraine with weapons.

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The situation in Ukraine

Russia has decided to optimize the staffing of its foreign missions in Ukraine for fear of provocations by Kiev or third countries.

This was announced by the official representative of the Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

She explained that about a month ago, Western media spread rumors about the alleged "evacuation" of Russian diplomats from Ukraine.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the purpose of these “stuffings” was “to create an information cover for the beginning of the evacuation by the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Canada and other countries of diplomats and their families from their embassies in Ukraine.” 

“Given the significant influence that Washington and London have on Kiev, and in general their role in managing the processes in Ukraine, we conclude that our American and British colleagues, apparently, are aware of some military actions being prepared in Ukraine that can significantly complicate security situation,” Zakharova explained.

At the same time, the embassy and consulates of the Russian Federation will continue to perform their main functions.

On Saturday, February 12, the US State Department called on American diplomats who do not hold critical positions to leave Ukraine.

A Twitter post from the agency claims that the decision was made due to ongoing reports of an alleged build-up of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, which “indicates the possibility of serious military action.”

The State Department also urged citizens to refrain from traveling to Ukraine, and Americans already there were advised to leave the country immediately.

In addition, the State Department announced that from February 13, the provision of consular services at the US Embassy in Kiev will be suspended.

The German Foreign Ministry also called on the country's citizens to leave Ukraine as soon as possible, explaining this by "the movement of Russian military units near the borders of Ukraine."

The authorities of Great Britain, the USA, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Estonia, Latvia, Belgium, as well as the governments of the Netherlands, Norway and Montenegro, have previously made a recommendation to citizens to leave Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the publication Politico published an article in which, citing an anonymous source, it is alleged that US President Joe Biden called February 16 the date of a possible Russian “invasion” of Ukraine.

At the same time, according to the sources of the publication, the attack may be preceded by "missile strikes and cyber attacks." 

Recall, on the eve of the Russian Foreign Ministry drew attention to the fact that the Western media launched an unprecedented scale disinformation campaign to spread fakes about the allegedly possible “aggression” of Russia against Ukraine.

The department explained that this was done in order to discredit Russia's demands for security guarantees and justify the geopolitical goals of the West. 

Meanwhile, Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said the US is seeking to raise the profile of the anti-Russian propaganda campaign.

So the diplomat commented on the words of US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who said that Russia could launch an “invasion of Ukraine” during the Beijing Olympics. 

According to Antonov, such statements are intended to form an opinion about the inevitability of "aggression."

“The Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that our country is not going to attack anyone,” the Russian Embassy in the United States emphasized.