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Russia and the United States showed no signs of overcoming differences over Ukraine and wider security issues in Europe at the Geneva talks on Monday.
US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who heads the US delegation, said after eight hours of talks that the United States had resolutely rejected Russian security proposals during talks with its Russian counterpart in Geneva, adding that Washington would not allow no one to block NATO’s open door policy.
She added that the discussions were sincere and direct and that the United States is open to meet again soon to discuss US-Russia issues in more detail.
Russia has amassed about 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine and has demanded that NATO rule out membership of the former Soviet republic and not expand further into territory that Moscow sees as its sphere of influence.
“Unfortunately, we have big differences in our principled attitudes in this regard. “The United States and Russia have opposing views on what needs to be done about certain issues,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters.
Washington and Kiev say Russian troops on the border with Ukraine may be preparing for a new intervention, eight years after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula.
Russia denies having plans for the invasion and said it is responding to what it considers aggressive and provocative behavior by the NATO military alliance and Ukraine, which is pro-Western and aspiring to join NATO.
Mr Ryabkov reiterated calls for a halt to further NATO enlargement and for the alliance to end its activities in the Central and Eastern European countries that joined in 1997.
“We emphasize that it is absolutely necessary for us to ensure that Ukraine will never, ever, become a member of NATO,” he said, adding that this is a matter of Russia’s national security.
“We will not allow anyone to block NATO’s open door policy, which has always been at the core of the NATO alliance,” said Sherman.
“We will not give up bilateral cooperation with sovereign states that want to work with the United States, and we will not make decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine, about Europe without Europe, or about NATO without NATO,” he said. she.
Troop gatherings near Ukraine have escalated US-Russia tensions to the highest levels since the end of the Cold War.
Ms. Sherman, the State Department number 2, will meet with US allies in Brussels ahead of a NATO-Russia meeting on Wednesday and an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe meeting in Vienna on Thursday.
US and Russian officials will meet again later this week to determine further steps./VOA/
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