There is still ocncern over Russia deploying an estimated troop of some 100,000 along the Ukraine border.
Top Russian and U.S. officials held a working dinner in Geneva on Sunday as part of the kickoff to a string of meetings in three European cities this week, with bilateral ties at a low ebb over Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine.
The less formal Sunday talks come ahead of a broader discussion between the two diplomats and their teams at the U.S. mission in Geneva starting Monday, a first step toward rekindling dialogue as ties have worsened because Russia has deployed an estimated 100,000 troops along its border with Ukraine. Concerns have risen about a broader Russian military incursion in the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government is taking advantag eof the situation and has laid out a list of demands one of which is seeking guarantees that the NATO military alliance won’t seek to expand any further eastward to countries like Ukraine or Georgia, which are former Soviet republics.
The United States and other Western allies are still standing strong in their pledge of “severe costs” to Russia if it moves against Ukraine.
– Ella Breedlove