US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Monday that she and her Russian counterpart Sergei Ryabkov agreed that nuclear war must be avoided at all costs.
Sherman determined security negotiations with Moscow as “frank and constructive“and stressed that both sides agreed that nuclear war “can never be won and can never be led. “
The American diplomat added that he had warned Russia that NATO “will not allow anyone to criticize open door policy “We have been adamant in rejecting security proposals that are simply not initial for the United States,” she said.
The United States has taken Russia’s security proposals on NATO and Ukraine “very seriously“, but the United States does not seem to fully understand the “urgency of the situation.”“Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister said on Monday Sergey Ryabkov.
Russia has no plans to attack Ukraine, he stressed during a press conference after the meeting with Sherman, emphasizing that Washington has no reason to “fear escalation“.
Ryabkov repeats that preventing NATO expansion to the east is an imperative for Russia.
If you negotiate through diplomatic channels with the United Statesand fail, Russia’s response will be “of a military-technical nature“, he added, but declined to provide further details on the potential response, emphasizing that Russia is currently focused on diplomacy.
Moscow intends to continue conducting military exercises on its territory, regardless of NATO ‘s position on the exercises.
Ryabkov repeated all requests, including a ban on further NATO enlargement and the termination of the Alliance in Central and Eastern Europewho joined him after 1997.
The friction between the United States and Russia
The two sides are negotiating in Geneva today
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Today in Geneva were held talks between the United States and Russia, and discussions to clarify positions of the parties, Sherman commented. The United States will decide how and whether to continue negotiations with Russia after all contacts this week, TASS reports.
according to her The United States has not set any deadlines for negotiations with Russia. Washington is open to discussing the deployment of missiles in Europe.
“We have made it clear that the United States is open to discussing the future of specific missile systems in Europe. in the light of the termination of the Medium-Range Nuclear Weapons Treaty of action, “Sherman said.
The United States will accept financial sanctions against key Russian institutions in the event of a Russian invasion of UkraineSherman explained after the meeting.
According to her, R.The United States and the United States have discussed military exercises in Europe at the Geneva talks. Sherman stressed that the parties have discussed “ways to establish mutual restrictions on the scope of military exercises in Europe and increasing the transparency of these exercises on a reciprocal basis. “” We think this will also be a topic for discussion at NATO-Russia Council meetings this week, “Sherman added.
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The United States will not discuss European security with Russia without Europeans
Preliminary talks took place tonight …
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The United States and Russia have held talks in Geneva in an effort to quell growing tensions near the accumulation of troops in Moscow near its border with Ukraine, writes “Deutsche Welle”.
The meeting between Wendy Sherman and Sergei Ryabkov, ended in the Swiss city after eight hours of discussions.
This week, Russian officials will also meet with delegations from NATO and the Organization for Security and Operations in Europe.
Speaking to reporters after the talks, Rabkov commented that the US position is not “surprising“.” They were certain threats or warnings were made … we we explained to our colleagues that we had no plans to “attack“Ukraine,” Ryabkov said.
Sherman described the talks as frank and open, but Washington has rejected Moscow’s proposals for security. She added that the US delegation had rejected Russia’s requests for assurances from NATO that it would halt its eastward expansion.
The West is concerned that the accumulation of Russian troops and military equipment near the border with Ukraine can lead to invasion. Moscow has denied such an intention.
The Kremlin is seeking assurances that NATO will no longer expand eastward and that Ukraine will never gain membership in the military alliance.
Alexandra von Nachmen, head of DW’s Brussels office, said that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinkon thinks so negotiations will be more of an opportunity to present positions and that no concrete results should be expected.
“We really need to lower our expectations. US Secretary of State Blinkon said yesterday that does not expect any breakthroughs today or this weekthat it was just an opportunity to present the positions, not to solve them, he also described the list of demands of the Russians as a list of absolutely non-standard demands. “
Simultaneously with the talks in Geneva, NATO Secretary General Ian Stoltenberg talks with the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine on the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine Olga Stefanishina.
At a joint press conference on Monday Stoltenberg warned Russia that “any further aggression against Ukraine will have a high political and economic cost“.
Stoltenberg said that Ukraine is a “valuable and long – standing NATO partner“.
A meeting of the NATO-Russia Council will be held in Brussels on Wednesday. The secretary general said Russia’s desire to attend is a positive development. “I welcome the fact that Russia has agreed to our proposal to hold a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council later this week. That’s a positive signal. “
Stoltenberg said that will focus on European security issues, I will listen to what Russia has to say. “We will listen to Russia’s concerns, but any meaningful dialogue must also address our concerns about Russia’s actions.”
US President Joe Biden had two telephone conversations with the Russian president Vladimir Putin in recent weeks.
Biden has warned his Russian counterpart of serious consequences if Moscow invades Ukraine againon, following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014. A possible response could include additional sanctions, the cancellation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline or even the cutting off of Russia from the global banking network.
