Almost 8-hour US-Russia talks on “guarantees” were concluded in Geneva.
Among Russia’s “security guarantees” was a demand that NATO does not expand to Eastern Europe through Ukraine’s accession, thereby reducing the American presence in Eastern Europe. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei A. Ryabkov told their American counterparts they had no plans to invade Ukraine. Wendy Sherman, the lead American diplomat, on the other hand, said the US was “pushing back on security proposals that are simply non-starters for the United States,” including Russia’s demands that Ukraine should not be admitted into NATO and that the alliance ends was security cooperation with Ukraine. In addition, the two sides discussed the possibility of reviving the Intermediate-Range Nuclear ForceTreaty, which the United States abandoned in 2019, after years of accusing Russia of violating its terms.