Status: 09.01.2022 09:12 a.m.
Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with Russia, the US is ready to negotiate on issues such as missile deployments and military exercises. However, Washington draws a clear line on the Ukraine issue.
Before the bilateral negotiations with Russia in Geneva, the US side dampened expectations. “We are entering these talks with realism and not with optimism,” said a US government official in a telephone conversation with journalists. “There will be no firm commitments in these talks, which will be serious and concrete, but exploratory.” All issues would then be examined in Washington and discussed with the allies of NATO and Ukraine in the course of the week.
The official said he would not be surprised if the Russian side spread false reports about US concessions in order to “create a division among the allies”.
The US is ready to talk about limiting US and NATO military exercises in Eastern Europe, the official said – provided Russia gives in with Ukraine. “There are a few areas where we think it might be possible to make progress.” A mutual restriction of the stationing of offensive missile systems is also possible. “Both sides would have to make essentially the same commitments.” Whether Russia is ready to negotiate “seriously and in good faith” will only be known during the course of the talks.
Trade ban possible for certain products
On the other hand, the US is not ready for talks about the scope of the stationing of US troops in NATO member states in the region. The US side also categorically rejected Russia’s demands to renounce NATO’s eastward expansion. It was not up to Moscow to decide which countries other states would enter into alliances with. “In the context of NATO, we call this an open door, and neither Russia nor any other country will slam it.”
If Russia intervenes militarily in Ukraine, it will face tough economic sanctions, another high-ranking government official made clear. The US did not rely on a gradual escalation, but on immediate massive retaliation.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that one of the possible sanctions discussed by the US with allies was to exclude Russia’s largest financial institutions from global transactions and to impose trade bans on certain technology products from the United States. The US would put Russia on a par with North Korea, Iran, Syria and Cuba. There was also discussion about arming insurgents in Ukraine to fight against Russian occupiers.
Russia disappoints with US signals
According to a spokesman for the State Department, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will meet Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov for an initial meeting on Sunday evening after her arrival in Geneva. Sherman is accompanied by Lt. General James Mingus, head of the Joint Staff. Ryabkov will take part in talks with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel-General Alexander Fomin.
Russia was disappointed with the signals from the USA. The United States continued to insist on unilateral concessions from Russia, the government in Moscow criticized the news agencies Interfax and RIA. Russia is not optimistic about the deliberations, said Ryabkov, according to Interfax.
Further negotiations during the week
The official meeting on Monday will be followed by the first meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels on Wednesday for more than two years. Thereafter there will be talks in Vienna on January 13th within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The situation has been tense for weeks. Russia has gathered around 100,000 soldiers on its border with Ukraine. The government in Kiev and western states fear that this could serve to prepare for a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian government denies aggressive intentions but has made far-reaching demands. Russia demands that NATO does not accept Ukraine or other ex-Soviet republics as members. In addition, it should withdraw offensive weapons from the region, it said from the Kremlin. The Russian government set out the demands in a draft security agreement that it submitted to NATO.