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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Geneva: The talks ended earlier than expected
Photo: POOL / REUTERS
Amid high tensions in the Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US counterpart Antony Blinken met in Geneva on Friday for crisis talks.
After the meeting, Blinken again warned Moscow against invading Ukraine.
"I conveyed the position of the United States and our European allies and partners that we stand firmly with Ukraine and support its sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said in Geneva.
“We have made it clear that if any Russian forces move across Ukraine's border, it will be a re-invasion.
The United States and our partners and allies will respond quickly, forcefully, and collectively.”
Blinken said the conversation with Lavrov was "frank and substantive."
The conversation was an exchange of views, not a negotiation.
The US is ready to address Russian security concerns by mutual agreement.
Both sides now have a better understanding of the other's position.
Lavrov and he agree that it is important to continue the diplomatic process.
According to Blinken, however, this is conditional on "Russia stopping its aggression against Ukraine." Blinken also again warned Russia against an invasion of Ukraine.
In such a case, there would be significant consequences.
Lavrov had previously spoken in a separate press conference.
The Russian Foreign Minister drew a positive balance of the talks.
The meeting was "open and useful".
Lavrov said his country never threatened the Ukrainian people.
His country has no plans to attack its neighbors.
After the meeting with US Secretary of State Blinken, Lavrov said his counterpart asked him to de-escalate the situation.
Lavrov hoped that things would calm down again.
"This is not the end of the dialogue," said the Russian foreign minister.
President Vladimir Putin is always ready to get in touch with US President Joe Biden.
However, any contact between the two heads of state should be well prepared.
NATO accused Lavrov of working against his country.
He criticized that a "Russophobic minority" set the tone.
His government is concerned about sending arms and military advisers to Ukraine.
The West will provide its government with a written response to its request for security guarantees next week.
Conversation ended earlier than planned
Russia is against the admission of the ex-Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia to NATO because it sees it as a threat.
NATO and the USA claim that a country can choose which alliance it joins.
Ukraine and Georgia also have a right to security.
The meeting was initiated by the US side in view of the tensions surrounding the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The two chief diplomats greeted each other with a handshake around 11 a.m. in a hotel on Lake Geneva.
The crisis talks in Geneva ended earlier than planned.
The meeting lasted about an hour and a half, shorter than the scheduled two hours, according to Russian news agencies.
Efforts to ease the tension have been in full swing since last week, but have so far produced no tangible results.
The US and its western allies are demanding a retreat of the 100,000 Russian troops massed on the Ukrainian border to the rear.
Russia, on the other hand, wants written security guarantees and an end to the eastward expansion of the western military alliance NATO.
asc/dpa/Reuters
