GENEVA Jan 9 There is a possibility to reach agreements with the United States in negotiations on security guarantees, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. «There are always chances,» he answered a question from journalists. As the diplomat previously emphasized, Moscow will not succumb to pressure from Washington, concessions during the upcoming consultations. » completely excluded. » According to him, the Russian delegation arrived «not with an outstretched hand,» but «with a clearly formulated task that needs to be solved» on Russia's terms. Ryabkov added that the unilateral approaches promoted by the United States and NATO cannot be the basis for a discussion on security guarantees. If the partners choose this position, further dialogue will lose its meaning. Earlier, a senior US administration official said that Washington was not optimistic about the upcoming talks with Moscow. The White House stressed that the United States does not intend to discuss the reduction of its military presence in European countries. The American side is ready to discuss some aspects of Russia's proposals on security guarantees, including the non-deployment of missiles on the territory of Ukraine. 
Geneva Russia and the United States will hold consultations on January 9-10 in Geneva on Moscow's proposals on security guarantees, followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels, and consultations at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna. On Sunday in Geneva, the preliminary part of the talks will take place in the format of a working dinner. At the end of 2021, Russia published draft agreements with the United States and an agreement with NATO on security guarantees. Moscow, in particular, demands from its Western partners legal guarantees against further expansion of NATO to the east, from joining the Ukrainian bloc and from creating military bases in post-Soviet countries. 
