Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. File photoGENEVA, Jan 21Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will meet in Geneva. The main topic of discussion is expected to be Russian proposals for security guarantees. At the same time, Blinken has already said that the US written response to Russian documents is not lucky for the meeting. According to him, the parties need to discuss the current situation and see if they still have the opportunity to conduct diplomacy and dialogue. Moscow, in turn, said that during the contact in Geneva it is supposed to «decide on possible further steps.» will take place a week after a series of consultations between Russia, the United States and NATO on Russian proposals for security guarantees: on January 9-10, the issue was discussed in Geneva at meetings with the United States, on January 12 — during a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council, on January 13 — at the OSCE site. Moscow's main demands include: renunciation of further NATO expansion to the East, withdrawal of the alliance's weapons to the positions of 1997, and non-deployment of strike weapons near Russian borders. So far, only the third point is ready to be discussed in the West.Sources told how long the meeting between Lavrov and Blinken in Geneva will last. At the same time, Moscow stressed that the Russian proposals are not a «menu» from which you can choose, but a package agreement. NATO's further advance towards Russia's borders will be seen as crossing a «red line,» the minister said. Commenting on the possibility of Ukraine's entry into NATO, Lavrov said that for Moscow, the emergence of an alliance near the borders of Russia is categorically unacceptable. Now Russia is waiting for written answers from the US and NATO to its proposals. According to Lavrov, Russia needs a specific response to each article of the proposals, and Moscow's further actions and the prospects for resuming negotiations will depend on this. If the West rejects the Russian proposals, Moscow will assess the situation and make a decision taking into account all factors and in the interests of ensuring national security, the minister said.Blinken Named Topics He Wants to Discuss with Lavrov Lavrov also pointed out the imperativeness of Washington's speedy provision of concrete, article-by-article answers «on paper» in the course of a recent telephone conversation with Blinken. The Russian minister urged not to replicate speculations about the allegedly impending «Russian aggression» against Kiev, which Washington has been actively declaring lately. Moscow has repeatedly voiced its claims against the United States regarding the situation in Donbass. Hundreds of US and British military personnel are stationed in Ukraine, and the supply of arms by the West to Kiev creates an additional temptation for him to switch to forceful methods of resolving the conflict, Lavrov said. military aid, with further deliveries expected over the coming weeks.The expert told what results can be expected from the meeting between Lavrov and Blinken. What's next? In addition to assessing the three rounds of consultations that took place last week, it is supposed to «decide on possible further steps,» said the official representative of the Russian diplomatic service, Maria Zakharova, on the eve of the talks, referring to «the soonest submission by the American side of a written response with article-by-article comments on Russian documents.» The Kremlin believes «Extremely important» is the upcoming contact between the two diplomats, said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He explained that after the US response on security guarantees, there will be an understanding when the presidents of the two countries decide to get involved personally. The possibility of a new summit was recently announced by US President Joe Biden.Russia hopes to get a response to Blinken's proposals, permanent representative said On the eve of contact in Switzerland, Blinken said that the meeting would be a good opportunity to discuss Russia's past consultations with the US and NATO. The Secretary of State also noted that he did not expect the meeting with the Foreign Minister to resolve all the difficult issues in relations between the two countries, but expressed hope that it would bring a settlement around Ukraine closer. Even earlier, the State Department noted that the United States sees the upcoming meeting as a sign that still alive» in the crisis over Ukraine, as well as an opportunity to express their concerns to Russia and probe the potential for reaching mutual understanding. The meeting with Lavrov in Geneva will be the final point of Blinken's European tour program. On January 19, he went to Kiev, where he held meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. On Thursday, Blinken will meet in Berlin with German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock, who made her first visit to Moscow on Tuesday, as well as with members of the «transatlantic four», which also includes the foreign ministers of Great Britain and France. In Kiev, Blinken said that Washington preferred to resolve the situation with Moscow in Ukraine peacefully. According to the Secretary of State, Washington prefers the path of diplomacy and dialogue, «the most responsible way» to solve problems.Biden talks Russia into invading Ukraine, but not very deeplyDeclaring the path of diplomacy, the United States, however, does not abandon its traditional rhetoric: Biden said on Wednesday that Russia has never seen sanctions like those prepared by Washington in the event of an escalation of the situation around Ukraine, and also threatened Russia with a «catastrophe» in this case. The American leader stressed that the United States does not intend to reduce its military presence in Europe — on the contrary, Washington will increase the number of contingents in the eastern part of the Old World in case of further escalation around Ukraine. But at the same time, Biden did not rule out working out Russia's demand for the United States not to deploy strategic weapons in Ukraine. Another tense moment on the eve of Friday's contact was a new draft of restrictive measures against Russia by Republican Jim Banks. The document, among other things, calls for the declaration of «Russian-backed» forces in the Donbas as terrorists and the recognition of Russia as a sponsor of terrorism, and it also provides for sanctions against Putin personally, all members of the government, Russian officials, security officials, businessmen and journalists. Given the difficult situation on the eve of the meeting, experts interviewed RIA Novosti agrees on one thing: the meeting of the heads of the Russian and American diplomatic departments is certainly a positive sign, but so far there is only reason for «cautious optimism.» According to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the negotiating table at the meeting between Lavrov and Blinken will be decorated with orchids.
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