As tensions flare between Moscow and Washington, their top diplomats have held the latest round of talks in an effort to secure a deal
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his American counterpart Antony Blinken have met for crunch talks in the Swiss city of Geneva to discuss rising tensions between the two nations and Moscow’s proposals to limit NATO expansion.
Following the head-to-head talks, each diplomat gave his account to journalists about the outcome of their discussions, with tensions remaining strained between Washington and Moscow. The meeting finished early, lasting only around an hour and a half, with the two sides having briefed that the chances of a breakthrough were slim.
Speaking at a conference after the showdown, Lavrov said that Blinken was “satisfied” following the talks. The American diplomat also added that discussions were “frank and substantive,” and said that the two parties are now on a “clearer path” to understanding one another’s concerns.
Obtaining firm assurances that Kiev will not join the bloc is integral to maintaining Moscow’s safety, officials have said. In late December, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said the expansion of NATO closer to Russia’s borders is a question of“life or death.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously insisted that the last Soviet premier, Mikhail Gorbachev, was given assurances by the West that NATO would not push into the space left after the fall of the USSR. A trove of documents was declassified in 2017, and was subsequently widely viewed as showing that American, British, and German officials verbally assured the Kremlin in the 1990s that NATO would not move into Eastern European countries, before granting Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia membership.
In late December, the two leaders held a video call which lasted 50 minutes and saw the pair discuss key security issues in Europe, including Ukraine. Putin advised his counterpart that the imposition of further punitive measures would deal a deadly blow to US-Russia relations. Earlier in December, the leaders held a longer interaction via a secure video link. According to a readout of the call from the Kremlin, Moscow said that it is “seriously interested” in obtaining “reliable and firm legal guarantees” ruling out NATO’s expansion further eastwards and the deployment of “offensive strike weapons systems in countries adjacent to Russia.”
https://ift.tt/3EMI9nD 21, 2022 at 11:47PM
from RT – Daily news
