UK Edition
Russia has ruled out making any concessions over Ukraine at talks with the United States in Geneva today on Monday as Washington warned that the crisis could spill over into confrontation.
Fears of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine have been high since reports of unusual troop movement near the border last year, and there was little sign of tensions easing ahead of the meeting between Moscow and Washington.
The talks with the United States kick off a week of diplomacy during which Russian officials will meet representatives of Nato and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as Washington tries to assure European allies they will not be sidelined.
But fears that the negotiations could collapse on the first day were heightened by Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, who will be leading the country’s delegation.
“I can't rule out anything, this is an entirely possible scenario and the Americans... should have no illusions about this,” said Mr Ryabkov, who will be leading the country’s delegation in Geneva.
“Naturally, we will not make any concessions under pressure and in the course of threats that are constantly being formed by the Western participants of the upcoming talks.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was equally pessimistic yesterday when he appeared on CNN’s State of the Union.
“To make actual progress, it’s very hard to see that happening when there’s an ongoing escalation, when Russia has a gun to the head of Ukraine, with 100,000 troops near its borders, the possibility of doubling that in very short order.”
"There's a path of dialogue and diplomacy to try to resolve some of these differences and avoid a confrontation," Blinken told CNN television.
"The other path is confrontation and massive consequences for Russia if it renews its aggression on Ukraine. We are about to test the proposition about which path President (Vladimir) Putin is prepared to take."
Washington has stepped up pressure on Russia, warning that an invasion of Ukraine would see Moscow hit with unprecedented sanctions.
The Kremlin is insisting Nato must never grant membership to ex-Soviet Ukraine, which is pushing to join.
Western allies were alarmed last month when Joe Biden appeared to offer Vladimir Putin concessions over Ukraine’s membership of Nato during a two-hour video conference call between the two leaders.
Although US diplomats swiftly walked back suggestions that Ukraine would be denied Nato membership, fears that Europe could be bypassed were voiced by French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune.
"Europeans shouldn't be absent from the negotiation table," he said as he warned negotiators against falling into “Russia’s trap.”
Washington has indicated it is prepared to talk about restricting military exercises and missile deployments in Ukraine.
But this is likely to fall short of the Kremlin’s demands, with Russian leaders regarding the eastern expansion of Nato as a threat to its security.
Mr Blinken, along with others in Washington, fears Russia is trying to restore the Soviet sphere of influence.
“I think that’s one of President Putin’s objectives, and it is to re-exert a sphere of influence over countries that previously were part of the Soviet Union,” he said.
“That’s unacceptable. We can’t go back to a world of spheres of influence. That was a recipe for instability, a recipe for conflict, a recipe that led to world wars.”