Russia does not want war with Ukraine, says Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov

FILE PHOTO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Swiss President Ignazio Cassis (not pictured) meet in Geneva, Switzerland, January 21, 2022. Jean-Christophe Bott/Pool via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Moscow did not want war with Ukraine and spoke positively about security proposals received from the United States.

The U.S. proposals were better than proposals received from NATO, said Lavrov, who said he expected to meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the next couple of weeks.

Lavrov said President Vladimir Putin would decide how to respond to the proposals.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Andrew Osborn; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Andrew Osborn)