Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Ryabkov MOSCOW/GENEVA, Jan 10 Russia, negotiating security guarantees with the United States, would like to test Washington's ability to make responsible decisions at a difficult moment, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with RIA Novosti. According to him, it is difficult for the United States to conduct a dialogue with Russia on a bilateral basis, «because they feel behind them are the eyes and ears of the most anti-Russian group in NATO. » from the point of view of European security, «the deputy minister said in an interview on the eve of the meeting with the United States in Geneva on security guarantees. On the evening of January 9, the first meeting between the Russian and American delegations in the format of a dinner took place — the so-called» preliminary «negotiations. Sergei Ryabkov leads the Russian interagency delegation, the American one is led by First Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman. Ryabkov called the results of the first meeting amazing. He noted that the conversation was difficult, but the business-like, the parties, according to the Deputy Minister, «plunged into the matter of the upcoming affairs.»Ryabkov commented on the upcoming talks with the United States in Geneva The main part of the discussions will take place on Monday, in a closed format, on the territory of the US Permanent Mission to the UN Office in Geneva. After the Geneva talks, a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council will be held in Brussels (scheduled for January 12), followed by Vienna — consultations at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Moscow on December 17 published draft agreements with the United States and agreements with NATO member states, which include, inter alia, provisions on mutual security guarantees in Europe, non-deployment of intermediate and shorter-range missiles in within reach of each other and refusal from further expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance, including at the expense of the former republics of the USSR. The documents were handed over to Washington and its allies. According to the Foreign Ministry, in the absence of a reaction, a new round of confrontation is possible. Vladimir Putin previously emphasized that further expansion of NATO to the east and the deployment of offensive weapons on Ukrainian territory and in countries adjacent to Russia are red lines for Moscow. 
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