Geneva, 14 January 2022 (TDI): The United States Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei A. Ryabkov, started a series of talks
to carve out a diplomatic path to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.
The US has initiated this mission because threats of military action in eastern Ukraine have stirred concerns among the global community. According to US State Department, the mission in Geneva started just after 9 a.m. local time.
ARRIVAL AT THE COMPOUND OF THE TWO PARTIES AND FIRST STATEMENTS
At Geneva, Police escorted the convoy of US and Russian ministers. It went to the
American diplomatic compound near Geneva Lake. The purpose of these talks is
‘Security Guarantees’ to avoid misunderstandings regarding Ukraine.
Western powers expressed concern about some diplomatic actions taken by the Russian Government. On Sunday evening, in an informal meeting, Ms. Sherman discussed the situation with Mr. Rvabkov at the Geneva lakefront.
Ms. Sherman assured genuine progress and diplomacy from the U.S side. According to Ryabkov, this meeting proved fertile ground for Monday’s formal meeting. NATO secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, stated that western allies are ready for possible settlement through peaceful negotiations.
US and Russian diplomats held an intense round of negotiations that lasted for eight hours. Furthermore, the Russian representatives told their US counterparts that they have no plans to get into Ukraine.
Moreover, Sergei A. Ryabkov, a Russian deputy foreign minister and the head of the Russian delegation gave a statement to the reporters after the meeting. According to him, there is no reason to fear some kind of escalators scenario.
Ryabkov then added that the negotiations were long, professional, deep, and concrete; and without attempts to gloss sharp edges. He also mentioned that the delegation believed that the US side took the Russian proposals seriously to study them.
STATEMENTS OF WENDY SHERMAN
Wendy Sherman, the lead US diplomat, mentioned that the meeting was a discussion, a better understanding of each other and each other’s priorities; not a negotiation. Sherman also stated that both sides discussed the possibility of reviving the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
The US abandoned that treaty in 2019.
Furthermore, she added that the US raised ideas about where U.
S. and Russian intermediate-range missiles are located. The US delegation expressed their interest to discuss ways to set reciprocal limits on the size and scope of military exercises and to improve transparency about those exercises.
RUSSIAN PROPOSAL TO THE US AND NATO
The talks are the first in a series of discussions that will take place across Europe this week. Moreover, it is important to mention that in December, Russia published a proposal for two agreements with the United States and NATO.
The proposal would then roll back Western military activity in Ukraine and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.
Sherman also mentioned that Western Officials insisted that Cold War-style regions of influence are a relic of the past and that countries should be able to choose their alliances.
Russia insists that its demands go well beyond arms control; they also remarked that it would involve a redrawing of the security map in Europe. They also mentioned that even though the talks didn’t have a diplomatic breakthrough, both sides were able to relax.
Furthermore, the United States delegation also mentioned that they do see more areas for a potential agreement. That agreement would include each side’s military exercises and U.S. missile deployments in Europe.
They also mentioned that the US considered the mutual talks to be better than nothing. The talks continued on Wednesday and Thursday, first with NATO and then with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Sherman told the reporters on Monday that the US is committed to meaningful reciprocal dialogue with Russia. She then added that it’s necessary to give diplomacy and dialogue the time and space required to make progress on such complex issues.
