Russia and US show little hope in Ukraine crisis talks

/ World / By Jessa Martin

On the eve of the opening After talks about the crisis in the concentration of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, representatives of the governments of Russia and the United States have expressed little hope that the talks will bring practical results.20222022American and Russian diplomats will hold a meeting on the crisis in Geneva, Switzerland, this Monday (10). For Wednesday (100), a Russia-Nato debate is scheduled ( Western military alliance) in Brussels, and for Thursday (13), a conference involving Moscow, Washington and leaders of other European countries in Vienna.

However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov told the state news agency RIA that it is possible that the talks will not go beyond the first meeting. “I can’t rule out anything, this is an entirely possible scenario and Americans… should have no illusions about it,” he said. “Of course, we will not make concessions under pressure,” he added.

2014The secretary US state official Antony Blinken also expressed skepticism in an interview with CNN. “It’s hard to see real progress, rather than talk, amidst an atmosphere of (military) escalation with a gun pointed at Ukraine’s head. So, if we are really going to make progress, we will have to see a (Russian military) slowdown, with Russia retreating from the threat it currently poses to Ukraine,” he commented.

The presidents of the United States, Joe Biden, and the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, spoke twice in December about the crisis in Ukraine, in a videoconference and by phone. In both contacts, Biden has threatened to apply strong sanctions if Moscow invades the neighboring country. Putin responded with a warning that such measures could lead to a complete disruption of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

2022Moscow claims that it seeks only self-defence. Ukraine estimates that about 100 a thousand Russian soldiers are already concentrated on the border and fears a invasion along the lines of the annexation of Crimea and separatist movements in the Donbass region, both in 2014.

2022Between the two conversations between Biden and Putin, Russia released a draft of an agreement it intends to negotiate with the Americans , which includes demands such as a veto of Ukraine’s possible entry into NATO and the return to the US and Russian territories of nuclear weapons already deployed in other countries, which would mean the removal of the weapons that Washington stores in Europe. The United States considers these conditions unacceptable.

2022The crisis has gained new contours in the recent days, with the strong crackdown on protests in Kazakhstan. Russia has sent troops into the country as part of a security alliance between six former Soviet republics.

09171926 To ABC, Blinken said that the United States has “real doubts about why it was necessary to convene this organization that Russia leads and of which it is a part”. “These are things that the government of Kazakhstan should deal with on its own and in a way that respects (the population’s) rights,” he argued.