Russia notes no progress on talks with US over Ukraine, NATO

By KONSTANTIN MANENKOV and JAMEY KEATEN

GENEVA (AP) — A apical Russian diplomat pressed the United States connected Monday to easiness a post-Cold War chill implicit Ukraine, ratcheting up Moscow’s demands that NATO pledge to halt giving rank to erstwhile Soviet states and halt weapons shipments to them that person led to what helium called a “precarious” standoff.

With some sides dug successful connected their positions, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said “no progress” was made connected the cardinal request to halt NATO expansion, though helium insisted: “We person nary volition to invade Ukraine.”

Ryabkov spoke aft his delegation wrapped up astir 5-1/2 hours of talks with a U.S. squad led by his U.S. counterpart, Wendy Sherman. The talks by elder U.S. and Russian officials are portion of a flurry of diplomatic enactment successful Europe this week aimed astatine defusing tensions implicit a Russian subject buildup connected the borderline with Ukraine.

Putin described NATO’s enlargement to Ukraine and different Russian ex-Soviet neighbors arsenic a “red line” for Moscow and demanded binding guarantees from the West that they wouldn’t go members of the alliance.

“The concern present is truthful dangerous, and truthful — I would accidental — precarious that we cannot spend immoderate further delays successful solution of this precise cardinal question. As President Putin said, connected galore occasions, ‘we cannot backpedal. We cannot spell backwards. There is nary further abstraction for america to bash so.’” Ryabkov said.

Speaking astatine a quality league astatine the Russian ngo successful Geneva conscionable arsenic Sherman held a abstracted league telephone with reporters, Ryabkov rattled disconnected Russian concerns and demands archetypal issued past period connected subjects similar NATO enlargement and wanting Western commitments not to deploy violative weapons adjacent Russian borders.

“The American broadside has treated the Russian proposals earnestly and profoundly studied them,” helium said, adding that helium characterized Moscow’s request for legally binding guarantees that NATO would not determination eastward was “an implicit imperative for us.” He emphasized that it would beryllium hard to enactment connected different issues if the U.S. stonewalled connected the cardinal Russian demands.

“Without advances connected those cardinal issues that are perfectly indispensable for us, it would beryllium problematic to enactment connected different aspects,” helium added, seemingly alluding to arms power and different thorny dossiers betwixt the 2 countries.

Moscow has sought to wrest a drawstring of concessions from the U.S. and its Western allies, and has massed an estimated 100,000 troops successful steps that person raised concerns astir a imaginable subject involution there.

Sherman called Monday’s talks a “frank and forthright discussion.”

“Today was a treatment of a amended knowing of each different and each other’s priorities and concerns,” she said. “It was not what you would telephone a negotiation. We’re not to a constituent wherever we’re acceptable to acceptable down texts and statesman to spell backmost and forth.”

“We were firm, however, connected pushing backmost connected information proposals that are simply nonstarters for the United States,” Sherman said, adding “we volition not let anyone” to unopen NATO’s “open-door policy” that extends to countries seeking introduction successful the alliance.

“We volition not forgo bilateral practice with sovereign states that privation to enactment with the United States. And, we volition not marque decisions astir Ukraine without Ukraine, astir Europe without Europe oregon astir NATO without NATO.”

Echoing akin comments from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Sherman said advancement could lone hap if Russia “stays astatine the array and takes factual steps to de-escalate tensions.”

“We’ve made it wide that if Russia further invades Ukraine determination volition beryllium important costs and consequences good beyond what they faced successful 2014,” she said. “Russia has a stark prime to make.”

The gathering was portion of “Strategic Security Dialogue” talks connected arms power and different wide issues launched by Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden astatine a June acme successful the Swiss city. Talks betwixt Russia and NATO are planned Wednesday successful Brussels followed by a gathering successful Vienna of the Organization for Security and Cooperation successful Europe connected Thursday, wherever the showdown volition besides loom large.

The U.S. has played down hopes of important advancement this week and said immoderate demands — similar a imaginable halt to NATO enlargement — spell against countries’ sovereign rights to acceptable up their ain information arrangements, and are frankincense non-negotiable.

But U.S. officials person expressed openness to different ideas, similar curtailing imaginable aboriginal deployments of violative missiles successful Ukraine and putting limits connected American and NATO subject exercises successful Eastern Europe — if Russia is consenting to backmost disconnected connected Ukraine.

Blinken said bluntly Sunday that helium doesn’t expect immoderate breakthroughs. Instead, helium said a much apt affirmative result would beryllium an statement to de-escalate tensions successful the abbreviated word and instrumentality to talks astatine an due clip successful the future. But the U.S. volition person to spot a de-escalation for determination to beryllium existent progress.

“It’s precise hard to spot that happening erstwhile there’s an ongoing escalation, erstwhile Russia has a weapon to the caput of Ukraine with 100,000 troops adjacent its borders, the anticipation of doubling that connected precise abbreviated order,” Blinken said connected ABC’s “This Week.”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg besides sought to play down expectations earlier Monday.

“I don’t deliberation that we tin expect that these meetings volition lick each the issues,” helium told reporters successful Brussels connected Monday aft talks with Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s lawman premier curate for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. “What we are hoping for is that we tin hold connected a mode forward, that we tin hold connected a bid of meetings, that we tin hold connected a process.”

During a sojourn to Rome, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said dialog offered the lone mode retired of the crisis.

“At the aforesaid time, it’s arsenic wide that a renewed breach of Ukrainian sovereignty by Russia would person sedate consequences,” she told reporters.

Russia has said it wants the contented resolved this month, but NATO is wary that Putin mightiness beryllium looking for a pretext, specified arsenic a nonaccomplishment successful the negotiations, to motorboat an invasion.

The United States, which has emphasized that Ukraine’s authorities and those of different European countries request to beryllium included successful the discussions, plans to sermon immoderate bilateral issues successful Geneva “but volition not sermon European information without our European allies and partners,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Sunday. ___

Vladimir Isachenkov successful Moscow, Lorne Cook successful Brussels, Frank Jordans successful Berlin, and Matthew Lee successful Washington contributed.