MOSCOW — Russia insisted on Friday that it will not start a war with Ukraine after President Joe Biden warned there is a “distinct possibility” that Moscow could invade its neighbor in February.
As the West awaited the Kremlin’s next move, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country did not want war but would not allow its interests to be “rudely attacked” or ignored either.
“If it depends on the Russian Federation, then there will be no war,” he said during a live interview with Russian radio stations early Friday. “But I do not rule out that someone would like to provoke military action [around Ukraine].”
Tensions have been building for weeks, with Washington and its European allies scrambling to deter a Russian invasion. Moscow has amassed an estimated 125,000 troops on its neighbor’s border and issued a series of bold demands, but repeatedly denied planning any attack.
On Thursday Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose country has played down the threat even as the West sounds the alarm about the potential for a devastating new conflict in Europe.
“President Biden said that there is a distinct possibility that the Russians could invade Ukraine in February,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said in a tweet Thursday.
Horne said the president had previously said this publicly and that the U.S. had been warning about the possibility for months.
After the call Zelenskyy tweeted that the pair had discussed “diplomatic efforts on de-escalation and agreed on joint actions for the future,” as well as the possibility of financial support to Ukraine.
Kristina Kvien, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Ukraine, told NBC News that a further delivery of military aid from Washington was due to arrive in Kyiv later Friday as the U.S. and NATO moved to support Ukraine.
Hopes for a diplomatic solution to the crisis have been dimmed by a lack of progress and escalating rhetoric, but Lavrov did say that the U.S. response to Russia’s security demands earlier this week was more promising than the one sent by NATO and could provide room to negotiate on some issues.
He added that he expected to meet again with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the next couple of weeks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin would ultimately decide how to respond to the proposals, Lavrov said. Putin held a video call with French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday morning.
The Kremlin has urged NATO to deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and to roll back its military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. Moscow has warned of “retaliatory measures” should there be “no constructive response” from the U.S. and its allies, but has denied planning any attack.
U.S. Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan said Friday that Moscow’s protestations ring hollow when it has “put a gun on the table” with its military buildup, according to Reuters.
The U.S. formally responded to Moscow’s demands earlier this week in a letter that Blinken described as a “serious diplomatic path forward” to de-escalating threats against Ukraine.
But the Kremlin said it saw little grounds for optimism in the U.S. response, with Lavrov himself saying Thursday that the letter contained “no positive reaction” to Moscow’s main concern.
Russia warned it was pessimistic but indicated it would take its time to study the written responses from the U.S. and NATO before it decides how to move forward.
Now the U.S. and its allies must wait as they prepare for the worst.
Tatyana Chistikova reported from Moscow, and Saphora Smith reported from London.
Reuters, Matt Bradley and Associated Press contributed.