US President Joe Biden held a meeting on Russia and Ukraine with his national security team. This was announced on Sunday, January 23, by the White House.
In particular, the American leader was informed about the current state of “Russian military operations on the border with Ukraine.”
“Today, President Biden met virtually and in person with members of his national security team to discuss Russia’s ongoing aggressive actions against Ukraine,” the White House said.
During the meeting, Biden also discussed with his advisers diplomatic cooperation with the Russian Federation with the aim of de-escalation, possible measures to contain Moscow, as well as the supply of military assistance to Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, White House National Security Council Spokesperson Emily Horne commented on a statement by the UK Foreign Office about alleged plans by Russian intelligence services to imprison a pro-Russian leader in Kiev, stating that Washington is concerned about this statement.
On January 21, talks were held between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The one and a half hour meeting ended without much results. However, as the Russian minister noted at a press conference, negotiations were needed to specify positions – no one expected any written agreements.
Within the next week, Washington is due to deliver a written response to Moscow on security assurances.
As a result of the meeting, the parties separately held press conferences. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that there were no insurmountable differences between the parties. The ministry pointed out the need to re-build an atmosphere of trust between countries.
In addition, Lavrov urged the Secretary of State not to replicate speculation about the allegedly impending Russian aggression in Ukraine, but to force Kiev to comply with the Minsk agreements.
Negotiations on security guarantees were held in three stages in January. On January 10, a meeting of Russian and US delegations took place in Geneva, on January 12, a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council was held in Brussels, and on January 13, consultations at the Vienna site of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ended.
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published draft agreements between Russia, the United States and NATO on security guarantees. It follows from the documents that the alliance must renounce any military activity on the territory of Ukraine and other states of Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Also, Russia and NATO must pledge not to create conditions that can be regarded as a threat by the other side.
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