Original title: The dialogue between the foreign ministers of Russia and the United States cools the situation in Ukraine, and Lavrov urges the West to end “anti-Russian hysteria” Source: Reference News Network
Reference News Network reported on January 22 Talks between the top U.S. and Russian diplomats in Geneva came to an end after an hour and a half, half an hour short of the planned two hours, according to a report by DPA Geneva on January 21.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov shook hands in front of reporters at 11 a.m. local time to kick off the discussion about the Ukraine crisis, the report said.
The United States and Russia sought to de-escalate the tension in a bitter stand-off over Ukraine on Friday as they said there would not be any breakthrough anytime soon.
According to the report, at what the Americans call a “critical moment”, US Secretary of State Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov met in Geneva. The demands of the two sides not only seem quite tricky, but they are diametrically opposed.
An estimated 100,000 Russian troops are massed near Ukraine. The West fears that Moscow is preparing to “invade” Ukraine, despite Russia’s denials. The United States and its allies are hastily forming a united front to prevent this from happening.
“We’re not expecting any major breakthroughs today, but I think we’re clearly moving towards understanding each other’s positions now,” Blinken told reporters after the meeting.
Meanwhile, Lavrov described the talks as “constructive and useful”.
Lavrov also said the United States agreed to give a written response next week to Russia’s demands on Ukraine and NATO. That would delay any imminent offensive operations for at least a few days. But he declined to detail the commitment.
“I can’t say whether we’re on the right track or not. We won’t know until we receive a written response from the United States to all our proposals,” he told reporters.
In addition, according to a Reuters report in Geneva on January 21, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with U.S. officials in Geneva on Friday that Russia and the United States will continue to hold talks around Moscow’s security needs and expect a written response from Washington next week.
Lavrov told a news conference after his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Blinken that he hoped tensions over Ukraine would cool and reiterated that Russia did not pose a threat to Ukraine.
According to reports, Russia has assembled tens of thousands of troops near the Ukrainian border and sent troops to Belarus to participate in joint military exercises. It wants NATO’s commitment not to allow Ukraine to become a member of NATO and urges NATO to stop its eastward expansion. NATO rejected these Russian demands.
Lavrov said Friday’s talks were quite frank and useful. Russia has no plans to attack Ukraine. President Putin is willing to contact U.S. President Joe Biden at any time, but only if he is fully prepared.
Blinken claimed after the talks that if Russia “invades” Ukraine, it will face a “swift, harsh, and unanimous response” from the West.
He said that Washington had agreed to provide Russia with a written explanation for the security assurances raised by Moscow.
Blinken told a news conference in Geneva: “We made it very clear – if Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian border, it would be ‘aggression.’ The Russian side would be met with a swift, harsh, unanimous response from the United States and its allies. .”
Blinken said the two sides also discussed the Iran issue, adding that the United States and Russia could cooperate on the Iran nuclear deal.
Both sides agreed that it was important to continue consultations through the diplomatic process.
The report also said that Blinken and Lavrov shook hands at the President Wilson Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland, ahead of Friday’s talks, which they agreed would not lead to a breakthrough.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called on the West to end “anti-Russian hysteria” over Ukraine after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, according to a report by Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Geneva on January 21.
Lavrov told a news conference in Geneva on Friday that Russia had not threatened anyone and had not “invaded” any country. He dismissed Western fears that Ukraine was about to be “invaded” by Russia.
Lavrov said Russia wants a written response from the United States to Russia’s security proposals next week. He said the two sides should hold further foreign minister-level talks afterwards.
Lavrov criticized the tone set by the “Russian-phobic minority”. The foreign minister stressed that the security of another country in Europe cannot be guaranteed by harming one country.