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Diplomats from the United States and Russia met in Geneva on Monday, beginning a series of high-level talks this week on the massive gathering of Moscow troops along its border with Ukraine and Russian demands for security guarantees from the west.
A State Department spokesman said the meeting began shortly before 9 a.m. Central European Time, while stressing that the US side has consulted not only with Ukraine but also with NATO and other allies across Europe.
“The United States is committed to the ‘nothing for you, no to you’ principle when it comes to the security of our European allies and partners, including Ukraine“, Said the spokesman in a statement. “We are connected at every level with our allies and partners and will continue to be in the coming days and weeks”.
Following the Geneva talks, Russia will hold talks with NATO in Brussels on Wednesday, and in Vienna on Thursday with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Ahead of Monday’s US-Russia meeting, top diplomats on both sides expressed little optimism that tensions between the countries would ease this week.
“It is difficult to make any progress with the Ukrainian revolver in the head“, Said the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, for the show” State of the Union “on CNN.
“We will listen to Russia’s concerns” over NATO military exercises in Central and Eastern Europe“, said Secretary Blinken, but added that “they will have to listen to our concerns” about the 100,000 troops that Russia has amassed along Ukraine’s eastern flank.
Russia’s state news agency RIA, meanwhile, quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying it was entirely possible that the US-Russia talks would end abruptly after a single meeting.
“I can not exclude anything; this is a completely possible scenario and Americans duhet should have no illusions about it“, Ryabkov is quoted as saying. Officials from both countries held a working dinner Sunday night ahead of Monday’s talks in Geneva.
“Of course, we will not make any concessions under the pressure and in the course of the threats that are constantly being raised by the Western participants in the forthcoming talks.“, Said Ryabkov.
Secretary Blinken reiterated the US threat of severe economic sanctions against Moscow if it invaded Ukraine, eight years after the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
“Our strong preference is a diplomatic solution, but it depends on Russia“, Said Secretary Blinken on the ABC show” This Week “.
Russia denies planning an invasion of Ukraine as it seeks to end NATO enlargement and halt allied military exercises in Central and Eastern Europe that joined it after 1997.
The United States and NATO have said that a large part of the Russian proposals is not a good start./VOA
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