Security policy The U.S.-Russia Diplomacy Super Week began with “difficult” discussions and very low expectations

Abroad|Security policy

The United States and Russian Diplomacy Super Week has begun. Deputy Foreign Ministers Wendy Sherman and Sergei Ryabkov met already on Sunday for dinner in Geneva, and the talks were, according to Ryabkov, “difficult,” the news agency AFP reports.

Sherman and Ryabkov are scheduled to discuss issues rubbing between countries throughout Monday. At the heart of the talks is Ukraine, in the vicinity of which Russia has significantly concentrated its forces in recent months.

According to the U.S. State Department, Sherman told Ryabkov on Sunday that the United States emphasizes in international relations the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and the right of countries to choose their own allies.

Russia has demanded a promise from the United States and the military alliance NATO that NATO will no longer expand on its borders with Russia. This is not the case for the United States.

The United States foreign minister Antony Blinken lowered expectations for Geneva talks on Sunday In an interview with CNN, in which he said he did not expect “any breakthroughs” in the confrontation between the two great powers.

According to Blinken, Russia “keeps a weapon on Ukraine’s side.” According to the United States, Russia should ease tensions by withdrawing its troops from the vicinity of Ukraine.

Russia’s Ryabkov, meanwhile, said on Sunday that Russia did not intend to make “any concessions under pressure,” AFP, which quoted Russian media, said. According to him, Russia is disappointed with the signals coming from the United States and European countries during the negotiations.

In addition to the Geneva talks, a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council will be held in Brussels on Wednesday. The OSCE meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will be held in Vienna on Thursday.

Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg stated last Fridaythat it is good that the United States and Russia are now sitting at the same table. However, he said, one must be prepared for “negotiations to collapse and diplomacy to fail.”

Mr Stoltenberg will meet with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleban In Brussels on Monday.

On Wednesday, EU foreign ministers will meet in an informal meeting in Brest, France.