Back and forth between the US and Russia on the eve of the Geneva talks on security and arms control, focused on the conflict in Ukraine. The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke with the High Representative for EU Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, underlining the importance of coordinating actions in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and reiterated the threat of a “stern response” against Moscow in case of aggression in Kiev.
Moscow’s response was not long in coming, from the Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Riabkov, who ruled out any “concession” to the US in the talks in Switzerland and expressed the “disappointment” of Moscow “for the signals received in them. days from Washington, but also from Brussels “.
According to New York Times, the Biden administration and its allies are preparing a series of “tough” financial, technological and military sanctions against Russia, which would take effect within “a few hours” in the event of an invasion of Ukraine.
Before the back and forth, the US government had leaked a certain optimism regarding a possible “agreement” with Moscow on the deployment of missiles in Europe and on military maneuvers.
“We are open to talking about it because we believe that progress can be made, always in a context of coordination with our allies, said a senior official of the Biden administration in a telephone call with the press which was also present the Efe agency.
The Kremlin has already announced that it intends to agree with Washington and NATO on a new framework for security in Europe, so that the United States joins its unilateral moratorium on the positioning of short and medium-range missiles on the continent and the Alliance remove its military maneuvers from the Russian borders ..
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