US, Russia meet for talks amid tensions linked to Ukraine

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GENEVA – Senior U.S. and Russian officials formally launched special talks connected strategical stability connected Monday arsenic portion of a flurry of diplomatic enactment successful Europe this week aimed astatine defusing tensions implicit a Russian subject buildup connected the borderline with Ukraine, though nary large breakthrough was instantly successful sight.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and his delegation arrived nether Swiss constabulary escort astatine the U.S. diplomatic ngo for face-to-face talks with Wendy Sherman, the U.S. lawman caput of state, and her team. The gathering is portion of “Strategic Security Dialogue” talks launched by Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin during a June acme successful the Swiss city.

After an informal moving meal connected Sunday, Ryabkov predicted “difficult” talks successful Geneva that are to beryllium followed by a NATO-Russia gathering successful Brussels connected Wednesday and a gathering of the multilateral Organization for Security and Cooperation successful Europe successful Vienna connected Thursday.

Moscow has sought to wrest a drawstring of concessions from the U.S. and its Western allies, including guarantees that NATO volition nary longer grow eastward into erstwhile Soviet states similar Ukraine, on whose borderline Russia has amassed an estimated 100,000 troops successful steps that person raised concerns astir a imaginable deeper subject involution there.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that during Sunday’s meal Sherman “stressed the United States’ committedness to the planetary principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the state of sovereign nations to take their ain alliances,” a notation to Ukraine and its aspirations of joining NATO. Many analysts accidental immoderate specified accession would beryllium years distant astatine best.

Sherman “affirmed that the United States would invited genuine advancement done diplomacy,” Price said successful a statement.

The U.S. has played down hopes of important advancement this week and said immoderate demands — similar a imaginable halt to NATO enlargement — spell against countries' sovereign rights to acceptable up their ain information arrangements, and are frankincense non-negotiable.

But U.S. officials person expressed openness to different ideas, similar curtailing imaginable aboriginal deployments of violative missiles successful Ukraine and putting limits connected American and NATO subject exercises successful Eastern Europe — if Russia is consenting to backmost disconnected connected Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said bluntly Sunday that helium doesn’t expect immoderate breakthroughs successful the coming week. Instead, helium said a much apt affirmative result would beryllium an statement to de-escalate tensions successful the abbreviated word and instrumentality to talks astatine an due clip successful the future. But the U.S. volition person to spot a de-escalation for determination to beryllium existent progress.

“It’s precise hard to spot that happening erstwhile there’s an ongoing escalation, erstwhile Russia has a weapon to the caput of Ukraine with 100,000 troops adjacent its borders, the anticipation of doubling that connected precise abbreviated order,” Blinken said connected ABC’s “This Week.”

The United States, which has emphasized that Ukraine's authorities and those of different European countries request to beryllium included successful the discussions, plans to sermon immoderate bilateral issues successful Geneva “but volition not sermon European information without our European allies and partners,” Price said Sunday.

Amid the Russian subject buildup, concerns person risen astir a broader Russian subject incursion successful Ukraine — and the United States and its Western allies person vowed “severe costs” for Russia if it happens.

Putin’s authorities has laid retired a database of demands, specified arsenic seeking guarantees that the NATO subject confederation won’t question to grow immoderate further eastward to countries similar Ukraine oregon Georgia, which are erstwhile Soviet republics.

Russia was coming into the talks seeking a clearer knowing of the U.S. position, and cited signals from Washington that immoderate of the Russian proposals tin beryllium discussed, Ryabkov said, according to authorities quality bureau Tass connected Sunday.

He laid retired Russia’s 3 demands: nary further NATO expansion, nary missiles connected Russia’s borders, and for NATO nary longer to person subject exercises, quality operations oregon infrastructure extracurricular of its 1997 borders.

“The Russian broadside came present with a wide presumption that contains a fig of elements that, to my mind, are understandable and person been truthful intelligibly formulated — including astatine a precocious level — that deviating from our approaches simply is not possible,” Ryabkov told reporters Sunday.

Asked whether Russia was acceptable for compromise, helium said: “The Americans should get acceptable to scope a compromise." ___

Vladimir Isachenkov successful Moscow and Matthew Lee successful Washington contributed to this report.

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