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Russia and USA meet - Insider precludes admission: "Moscow will not decide on that"

2022-01-10T04:22:16.351Z


Russia and USA meet - Insider precludes admission: "Moscow will not decide on that" Created: 01/10/2022, 05:10 AM From: Astrid Theil Russian President Vladimir Putin (l) and US President Joe Biden are willing to hold talks in order to defuse the current crisis. (Archive image) © Patrick Semansky / AP / dpa Talks between the USA and Russia should defuse the Ukraine crisis. However, there is gre


Russia and USA meet - Insider precludes admission: "Moscow will not decide on that"

Created: 01/10/2022, 05:10 AM

From: Astrid Theil

Russian President Vladimir Putin (l) and US President Joe Biden are willing to hold talks in order to defuse the current crisis.

(Archive image) © Patrick Semansky / AP / dpa

Talks between the USA and Russia should defuse the Ukraine crisis.

However, there is great skepticism.

There is only hope in a few areas.

Geneva / Washington, DC - The USA and Russia will discuss the Ukraine crisis in Geneva on Sunday and Monday (January 9th and 10th). The United States has agreed in advance to discuss the two countries' missile systems and military exercises. "There are some areas in which we think it might be possible to make progress," said a senior US official and government official in a conference call with journalists, according to the dpa.

The aim of the talks between the Russian and US government representatives is to defuse the tensions between the two countries.

The background to the current crisis is a Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine.

Washington and the EU accuse Moscow of preparing a new invasion of Ukraine.

Russia denies such plans.

For its part, Vladimir Putin's government is resisting the admission of further Eastern European countries to NATO and is demanding a guarantee that Ukraine will never become a member of the alliance.

Ukraine crisis: USA warns Russia not to invade Ukraine

The US government official ruled that out: he said it was not up to Moscow to decide which countries other states would enter into alliances with. "In connection with NATO, we call this an open door, and neither Russia nor any other country will slam it."

The US is warning Moscow of a renewed military escalation in the Ukraine crisis. In such a case, the government representative held out the prospect of financial and economic sanctions and the armament of Ukraine by the USA. However, exact punitive measures were not mentioned. The

New York Times

recently reported that one of the possible sanctions the United States is discussing with allies is the exclusion of Russia's largest financial institutions from global transactions. But trade bans for certain technology products from the United States are also conceivable.

Two days after the bilateral talks in Switzerland, an exchange between Russia and NATO should take place: a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council is scheduled for January 12 in Brussels - the first in two and a half years.

Thereafter there will be talks in Vienna on January 13th within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Putin's demand: There are a few points where there is hope for an agreement

Above all, Putin made the dismantling of NATO's military presence in the border region with Russia a requirement for the bilateral talks. "Russia has said that it feels threatened by the prospect of offensive missile systems in Ukraine," said the US government official. But they do not have such an intention. So this is "an area where we may be able to reach an agreement if Russia is ready to make a commitment". At Moscow's request, the talks should also focus on the future of certain missile systems in Europe.

Finally, Washington is ready to discuss the possibility of mutual restrictions on the size and scope of military exercises carried out by Russia as well as the US and NATO, the government official said.

Nevertheless, there is skepticism regarding the upcoming talks: "We will only know during these talks whether Russia is ready to negotiate seriously and in good faith".

USA “realistic instead of optimistic”: Warning of fake news from Russia

In all likelihood, there will be a "first conversation" on Sunday evening before the main hearing takes place on Monday.

According to current information from the US State Department, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov will meet on Sunday evening.

Expectations were dampened on the US side.

The attitude of the USA in these talks is "realism instead of optimism".

The official stressed that these would be "exploratory talks" that would not result in firm commitments.

Above all, warnings were given against Russian disinformation campaigns: in order to unsettle the allies, false Russian media reports about possible concessions by the USA could be circulated.

(at / dpa / afp)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-01-10

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