“For our part, we are ready to discuss security issues both in the context of Ukraine and in a broader, strategic plan,” TASS quoted him as saying.

Lavrov stressed that Washington should “ripen” to understand the “inferiority of its current course” and conduct a dialogue with Russia on a mutually respectful basis, taking into account legitimate Russian interests.

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry also said that Ukraine is trying to achieve a head-on collision between the North Atlantic Alliance and Russia.

According to Lavrov, the course of the West, aimed at the total containment of Russia, carries the risks of a direct armed clash of nuclear powers.