We won’t invade Ukraine – Russian Foreign Minister

MOSCOW, March 29 (Reuters) – Russia said on Saturday it had no intention of sending its armed forces intoUkraine, signalling Moscow wants to ease tensions in the worst East-West standoff since the Cold war.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reinforced a message from President Vladimir Putin that Russia will settle – at least for now – for annexing Crimea, although it has thousands of troops near Ukraine's eastern border.

"We have absolutely no intention of – or interest in – crossing Ukraine's borders," Lavrov told a Russian television channel.

He added, however, that Russia was ready to protect the rights of Russian speakers, referring to what Moscowsees as threats to the lives of compatriots in eastern Ukraine since Moscow-backed Viktor Yanukovich was deposed as president.

The West imposed sanctions on Russia, including visa bans for some of Putin's inner circle, after Moscowannexed Crimea following a referendum on union with the Russian Federation which the West said was illegal.

The West has threatened tougher sanctions targeting Russia's stuttering economy if Moscow sends more troops to Ukraine.

In a sign that Putin is ready to ease tensions in the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War, Putin called U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday to discuss a U.S. diplomatic proposal for Ukraine.

The White House said Obama told Putin that Russia must pull back its troops and not move deeper into Ukraine.

The Kremlin said Putin had suggested "examining possible steps the global community can take to help stabilise the situation," and said the foreign ministers of the two countries would discuss this soon.

The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday passed a non-binding resolution declaring invalid Crimea's Moscow-backed referendum earlier this month on seceding from Ukraine, in a vote that Western nations said highlightedRussia's isolation.

Both Russia and West accused each other of using threats to affect the vote.