Crisis meeting with Blinken and Lavrov begins
Geneva. The chief diplomats of the United States and Russia have met in Geneva for talks on the worsening Ukraine crisis. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov began their meeting on Friday morning at a hotel on Lake Geneva.
While the USA and its western alliances are demanding a withdrawal of the 100,000 Russian soldiers who have been massed on the Ukrainian border, Moscow is demanding security guarantees and an end to the eastward expansion of the western military alliance NATO.
Efforts to ease the tension have been in full swing since last week, but have so far produced no tangible results.
Blinken takes a diplomatic approach
According to Blinken, in Geneva he wants to urge Moscow to use diplomatic channels to ensure the mutual security of Russia and the West. “I will also make it clear that Russian aggression against Ukraine would wipe out that opportunity,” he said in a speech in Berlin on Thursday, where he also met his German colleague Annalena Baerbock.
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Blinken and Lavrov meet in Geneva: No relaxation expected anytime soon
The Russian and US foreign ministers meet in Geneva to discuss Ukraine. ©Reuters
Ahead of the Geneva talks, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Lavrov would blink in detail to go through Moscow’s demands for security guarantees from NATO and the United States.