Despite the threat of severe US sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine, and all the consequences it has threatened over the past weeks, US reports stated that Washington and Moscow failed to resolve differences during the meeting that included in Geneva, Friday, between the foreign ministers of the two countries.
In the details, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that he would hold more talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, after Washington delivered a written response to Moscow, scheduled for next week.
Washington is also expected to respond to the proposals requested by Moscow, in which it demanded to limit NATO’s expansion and activities in Eastern Europe, according to a report by the US newspaper “Washington Post”.
Deadlocked negotiations
The talks between the two parties has become deadlocked; Russia sending more forces and military equipment, including ballistic missiles and air defense systems, to Ukraine, where there are already 100,000 troops, according to Dubai-based Al-Arabiya’s report published on Saturday.
While many US officials described the Russian demands as impossible to achieve, the agreement to continue diplomacy for now, at least, is a good point.
It is noteworthy that the meeting of Blinken and Lavrov lasted 90 minutes in Geneva on Friday, culminated in the visits of the US Secretary of State to Kiev and Berlin, to discuss the situation with the leaders of Ukraine and the European Union.
US officials asked their Russian counterparts not to disclose the content of the written US response to the Russian demands, which Washington will present to Moscow.
After the meeting, Blinken announced that Washington was ready to discuss the security issues raised by Russia, stressing his country’s commitment to supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and the right of its people to self-determination, threatening to respond to any attack, even if it was not military.
On his part, Lavrov stressed that the proposals put forward by Moscow represent a realistic vision of how to ensure the security of Europe for the long term, and create conditions for peaceful coexistence between Russia and the West, according to him.
The meeting between Lavrov and Blinken took place in a mansion overlooking Lake Leman, the latest step in an intense diplomatic process that began 11 days ago in Geneva between their aides.
