The US will not negotiate with Russia on security in Europe without allies – SME.sk

Bilateral talks will take place on Monday.

GENEVA. US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Sunday that Washington would talk about bilateral issues in the upcoming talks with Moscow, but would not address European security issues without allies from Europe.

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At a meeting with Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov, Sherman “confirmed that the United States would welcome real progress (achieved) through diplomacy,” said State Department spokeswoman Ned Price.

According to him, the diplomat stated that discussions on some issues would be reserved for the meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, which will take place in Brussels on Wednesday, January 12, and the meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna on January 13.

Regarding Ukraine, Sherman “emphasized the United States’ commitment to the international principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the freedom of sovereign countries to choose their own alliances,” the AP said.

Sunday’s meeting of American and Russian officials in Geneva was a preparatory part of bilateral negotiations within the so-called strategic dialogue between Washington and Moscow.

Sherman and Riabkov will also lead the delegations of their countries at the main part of the Geneva talks on Monday.

Riabkov called Sunday’s meeting, which lasted about two hours, “complicated, but matter-of-fact”. According to Russian media, he stressed that Moscow would not make any concessions under pressure from Washington, while warning the American side not to “make illusions” that this diplomatic effort could not end after a single negotiation, Reuters reports.

The US does not expect a breakthrough in negotiations over the next week, US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken told television CNN with the proviso that progress will depend on the de-escalation of the situation by Russia.

According to Reuters, Moscow’s uncompromising stance underscores the fragile prospects for negotiations at a time of the highest tensions in relations with Washington since the end Cold War and fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In response to Russia’s demands for security guarantees, the United States and its allies showed a willingness over the weekend to discuss the reciprocal restrictions on military exercises and the location of missiles in a region near Russia.

According to TASS, Riabkov made three demands from Russia on Sunday: no further NATO enlargement, no missiles at Russia’s borders, and no military exercises, intelligence operations, or NATO infrastructure outside the 1997 Alliance, the AP said.

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