Blinken-Lavrov meeting: Russia awaits US response soon

Status: 01/21/2022 1:47 p.m

According to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, the talks with US Secretary of State Blinken in Geneva were “open and useful”. A written US response to the Russian demands is expected in the coming week.

According to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Russia is expecting a written response from the United States to the Russian demands in the coming week. Lavrov said so after meeting US Department Head Antony Blinken in Geneva. It was agreed “that written answers to our proposals will be presented to us by next week,” he said, referring to the far-reaching list of Russian demands on Washington and its allies. After that there should be further talks at the level of the foreign ministers.

The Russian foreign minister lamented the “anti-Russian hysteria” in the West in the Ukraine conflict. Russia has no plans to attack Ukraine, he said. His country has never threatened the Ukrainian people.

The meeting with Blinken was “open and useful,” Lavrov said. Blinken asked him to de-escalate the situation. Both sides agree on the need for a “reasonable dialogue”. He hopes that “minds will calm down now”. President Vladimir Putin is always ready to get in touch with US President Joe Biden. However, any contact between the two heads of state should be well prepared.

No breakthrough expected in advance

Blinken also commented on the meeting. The conversation between the two politicians had previously ended earlier than planned. The meeting lasted about an hour and a half, shorter than the scheduled two hours, according to Russian news agencies.

The chief diplomats greeted each other with a handshake around 11 a.m. in a hotel on Lake Geneva. At the start, both made it clear that they did not expect a breakthrough in the talks.

However, Blinken said he hoped to keep the path of diplomacy open to reach a peaceful solution. “The talks are part of an ongoing attempt to calm the situation and avoid further aggression by Russia against Ukraine,” Blinken said. He renewed his warning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. This would entail a “collective, rapid and serious” response, he said.

“The negotiations are extraordinarily difficult”, Alexander Stenzel, SWR

Tagesschau 12:00 p.m., 21.1.2022

Mutual Claims

Efforts to ease the tension have been in full swing since last week, but have so far produced no tangible results. The US and its western allies are demanding a retreat of the 100,000 Russian troops massed on the Ukrainian border to the rear.

For its part, the Kremlin recently presented NATO with a far-reaching list of demands. Among other things, Moscow is demanding a written renunciation by NATO of further eastward expansion.

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