On Tuesday, February 1, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. During the conversation, Blinken said he was ready to continue negotiations on "security guarantees."

This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the press service of the U.S. State Department.

"Sergey Lavrov informed about the written response of the U.S. to Russia's security proposals. The secretary of state stressed the U.S. readiness on a bilateral basis and together with allies and partners to continue a substantive exchange of views with Russia on issues of mutual security," the statement said.

At the same time, Blinken called on Russia to immediately de-escalate and withdraw troops and equipment from Ukraine's borders. He also stressed that a further invasion of Ukraine would have swift and serious consequences and urged Russia to take the diplomatic route.

At the same time, the US Secretary of State reiterated the US commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of all countries to determine their own foreign policies and alliances.

We shall remind you that earlier Blinken said that the USA expects Russia's response to its proposals in the nearest future.

We would like to note that the US hopes that Russia will return to negotiations after it responds on "security guarantees".