W.House to provide Russia with security guarantees: senior official
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A senior White House official says that the United States is ready to negotiate with Russia, adding that Washington has no intention of deploying offensive missile systems in Ukraine.
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Top diplomats from the United States and Russia are meeting in Switzerland to ease tensions over Ukraine.
A senior White House official said Saturday that the US is prepared to discuss with Russia the two countries' missile systems and military exercises in discussions that could start as early as Sunday in Geneva.
"There are some areas ... where we think it might be possible to make progress," the official said.
"Russia has said it feels threatened by the prospect of offensive missile systems being placed in Ukraine ... The United States has no intention of doing that. So this is one area where we may be able to reach an understanding if Russia is willing to make a reciprocal commitment," added the official, who requested anonymity.
Furthermore, the official added that Moscow "has also expressed an interest in discussing the future of certain missile systems in Europe, along the lines of the INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty)" and "we're open to discussing this."
Finally, according to the source, Washington was willing to discuss the prospect of reciprocal constraints on the scope and size of military exercises undertaken by Russia, the US, and NATO.
"We won't know until we get to these conversations starting tomorrow night whether Russia is prepared to negotiate seriously and in good faith," the official said.
US-Russia upcoming meeting
Top diplomats from the United States and Russia are meeting in Switzerland to ease tensions over Ukraine, following Western claims that Moscow is planning a "new invasion of Ukraine". On its account, Russia has repeatedly denied the Western allegations of intending to invade its western neighbor, and Moscow's Foreign Intelligence Service accused the US State Department of spreading false information about the alleged troop buildup.
During a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last week, US President Joe Biden reiterated that the US and its European allies would impose "unprecedented" sanctions if Russia invaded Ukraine, to which Putin responded that the sanctions could lead to a "complete breakdown in relations."
