© KEYSTONE/KEYSTONE REUTERS POOL/DENIS BALIBOUSE
The meeting between the Americans and the Russians in Geneva did not allow any progress to be made on a de-escalation. Washington is ready to discuss reciprocal security concessions but remains “firm” on Ukraine. Moscow says it does not want to attack Kiev but warns.
“It was not a negotiation,” US Assistant Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told reporters Monday afternoon. After the tense invectives of the last few days, the two delegations sought for eight hours to better understand the demands and objections. “We have no intention of invading Ukraine,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov told reporters.
This extraordinary session of the follow-up dialogue to the summit last June between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin took place when the West accused Moscow of having massed tens of thousands of soldiers on the eastern border of Ukraine. On Monday, the President of the Confederation Ignazio Cassis addressed the situation in this area by telephone with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. Another tension, Washington is worried about Russian help to quell protests in Kazakhstan where more than 160 people have been killed and thousands have been arrested.
For many years, Russia has wanted to clarify the security situation in eastern Europe. In treaty proposals, it now asks for guarantees that NATO will not expand to include Ukraine, despite repeated requests from this country, and the fact that the forces of the Atlantic Alliance in its neighborhood will be reduced.
The discussions were “frank” and direct, “insisted the number two in US diplomacy. The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister said Washington was taking these requests” seriously.
Missiles or military exercises
However, no significant progress has been observed. Ms. Sherman told her counterpart that her country was ready to discuss a reciprocal effort on missiles, as well as on military exercises. Moscow accuses the United States of having suspended the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty that Ms. Sherman says she is ready to revive. If NATO were to deploy new weapons of this type in Europe, “it would require an immediate response from the Russian side” to counter this threat, Mr Riabkov insisted.
On Ukraine, the US Assistant Secretary of State said she had not received a “response” to the “de-escalation” request. No progress will be possible without improvement for the Russian-speaking population of eastern Ukraine, she said.
Washington wants further talks “soon” to get to the bottom of it. But for a “constructive”, “productive” and “successful” approach, they must “reduce tensions” by withdrawing their troops, Ms. Sherman said.
Washington remains ready for any scenario. “It’s up to President Putin to decide,” adds Ms. Sherman. In the event of an attack, economic and financial sanctions, as well as an increase in military assistance to Ukraine, are under discussion. The costs for Moscow will be “significant” and “substantial”, said the deputy secretary of state.
NATO-Russia Dialogue
Mr Riabkov retorts that the threat of a confrontation should not be underestimated, even if Moscow does not wish to attack Ukraine. The move of capabilities “will continue” because it is required to maintain the readiness of Russian forces, he added.
On NATO, the United States reiterates that it cannot decide for another state whether it wishes to join the Alliance. No one should have a “veto power,” Ms. Sherman insisted. But Moscow is very clear. We need guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia will “never” be part of the Alliance, said Riabkov, citing a national security issue for Russia.
The United States is not ready to tackle security issues that engage its allies without them. On Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine has “the right to defend itself” against Russia. This country still faces clashes in the east between the armed forces and pro-Russian separatists.
The Geneva talks will be followed by a week-long sequence between the West and Moscow. A NATO-Russia council, the first in more than two years, is due to take place in Brussels on Wednesday, before a meeting within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Thursday in Vienna. Only then can the continuation of the discussions be decided, insisted the US Deputy Secretary of State.