Russian-US talks in Geneva on security guarantees
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Al Mayadeen's correspondent reports that the Russian delegation, led by Sergey Ryabkov, has arrived to the US mission's headquarters to begin bilateral talks with the US on Ukraine tensions.
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Negotiations on security guarantees kick-off between Russia and the US in Geneva.
Al Mayadeen's Geneva correspondent reported that talks between Moscow and Washington have begun after the Russian team, led by Sergei Ryabkov, arrived to the US mission's headquarters to begin bilateral talks with the US team led by Wendy Sherman.
Our correspondent said the meeting will discuss tensions between the two parties in light of the Ukraine crisis.
Sherman had met Ryabkov in Geneva on Sunday, where they discussed the bilateral issues both sides will talk over during the Strategic Stability dialogue on Monday.
Another meeting is set to take place on Wednesday in Brussels between Russia and NATO, and another meeting will occur on Thursday in Vienna with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Ukraine.
Kremlin also announced today that there are no plans for a telephone call between the Russian and US presidents following today's talks in Geneva.
Ryabkov: Talks were difficult but businesslike
Ryabkov had commented on yesterday's talks, saying they were difficult but "businesslike."
"Amazing," Ryabkov stated at the conclusion of the preliminary talks when asked about how the meeting went.
The Russian diplomat stated that "the conversation was difficult but businesslike, we went straight to the matter of the upcoming talks, I think that tomorrow we will not waste time. I never lose my optimism, I am always guided by it."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday Russia had the choice between dialogue and confrontation, hours ahead of Russian-US talks in Geneva in light of soaring tensions over Ukraine.
He asserted that the other path consisted of "confrontation and massive consequences for Russia if it renews its aggression on Ukraine. We are about to test the proposition about which path President Putin is prepared to take."
Russia had called it unlikely that it would give any concessions in the talks with the United States. Ryabkov said he found signals coming from Washington and Brussels in the past few days disappointing.
