Geneva – With Russian troops Crowds on the borders of Ukraine, US and Russian diplomats made it clear that they did not agree to meet mutual security concerns, while the two sides continued to talk after intensive talks on Monday.
During a series of talks that lasted nearly eight hours, Russian officials said they had told their US counterparts that they had no plans to invade Ukraine. After the meeting, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei A. Ryapkov said, “There is no reason to be afraid of some kind of escalation situation.
“The speeches were hard, long, very professional, deep and concise, with no attempt to illuminate some sharp edges,” he said. Ryapkov said. “We feel that the US side has taken the Russian proposals very seriously and studied them in depth.”
Leading US diplomat Wendy Sherman said the United States was “pushing back on defense proposals that simply did not start for the United States,” including Russia’s demands that Ukraine not be allowed into NATO. With Ukraine.
“We will not allow anyone to close NATO’s open door policy, which has always been central to the NATO alliance,” Ms Sherman told a news conference. “We will not abandon bilateral cooperation with sovereign nations that want to work with the United States. We will not make decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine, Europe without Europe or NATO without NATO.
Both sides have lowered expectations for diplomatic progress.
“Today is a discussion, a better understanding of each other and each other’s priorities,” Ms Sherman said. “This is not what we call negotiation.”
The tone of the speech was “more reassuring,” he said. Riabkov said, “But the key questions are still in the air and we do not understand the need for a decision on the part of the US.” That fact must be taken into account. “
Ms Sherman said the two sides had discussed the possibility of renewing the Interim-Anti-Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which the United States had abandoned in 2019, accusing Russia of violating its terms for years.
He said the U.S. side had raised ideas about where the U.S. and Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles were, and that the United States was “ready to discuss ways to determine and improve mutual limits on the size and scope of military exercises.” Transparency about those exercises. “
Talks – First A series of discussions It will take place across Europe this week – revolving around demands for “security guarantees” from Western powers that made the Kremlin a significant diplomatic offensive late last year.
In December, Russia released a proposal for two agreements with the United States and NATO that would withdraw Western military operations in Ukraine and elsewhere in Eastern Europe, essentially re-establishing the sphere of Russian influence that had been part of the Soviet Union. Union.
As Ms. Sherman noted, many of the proposals are unfamiliar to Western authorities, who insist that Cold War-style areas of influence are monuments to the past and that nations should choose their own alliances.
“We did not go there, we did not go by the agreement they put on the table,” Ms Sherman said.
The Kremlin insists that Russia’s demands are beyond arms control and include a complete overhaul of the security map in Europe, forcing Western powers to weaken Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
If Russia does not get what it wants, President Vladimir V. Putin said last month that the Kremlin was ready to resort to military means to achieve its goals.
