The official added that the White House is ready to negotiate bilaterally or multilaterally through “several channels”, explaining that the date and location of the first meeting has not been determined.
He said, “There are points raised by Russia that we think we can discuss, (as opposed to) other points that (the Russians) know we will never accept.”
He stressed, “Any dialogue must be based on the principle of reciprocity, meaning that our concerns are also put on the table.”
“We continue to closely monitor the alarming movements of Russian forces and deployments on the border with Ukraine,” the same source said.
He stressed that the United States and its allies were at the same time preparing to impose “severe sanctions” if Moscow attacked Ukraine.
“I hope that the first positive reaction (from the United States) to announce the start of negotiations (in Geneva) in January will allow us to move forward,” Putin said, earlier during his traditional annual press conference.
On Tuesday, the Russian president toughened his tone by provoking a “military and technical” response if his Western opponents did not put an end to their threatening policies.
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