The Biden Administration says it is open to address the scale of European military exercises and the deployment of missiles on the continent when US and Russian diplomats meet next week for diplomatic talks, but not the more than 70,000 American troops stationed there.
The remarks come ahead of US-Russia diplomatic talks, which are set to begin Sunday night in an effort to de-escalate tensions in Eastern Europe. Nearly 100,000 Russian troops have gathered near the Ukrainian border, raising concerns of an invasion. According to analysts, the deployment might be the greatest Russian force build-up in Europe since the Cold War, which President Vladimir Putin has attempted to use as leverage over the United States to reduce soldiers, weapons, and influence along his borders.
US, Russia face off again over Ukraine
In 2008, Putin attacked Georgia; and in 2014, he invaded Ukraine. Since then, communication between the United States and Russia, the two countries with the world's two greatest nuclear arsenals, has been limited. When American intelligence services discovered that the Kremlin was involved in a multi-pronged operation to intervene in the 2016 US presidential elections, talks were further stifled, according to Time.
According to US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, during negotiations with Russia on security assurances, the US stated that in order for these talks to succeed, the situation around Ukraine must be de-escalated. Allegations of a Russian invasion of Ukraine have lately been circulated by the West and Kiev. These assertions, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, are "empty and false" and are being used to inflame tensions. He said that Russia poses no threat to anybody.
Peskov, on the other hand, would not rule out the potential of provocations aimed at justifying such accusations and cautioned that using military action to resolve the problem in southern Ukraine would be disastrous. Moscow, he claims, is doing all necessary to assist Kiev in resolving the Donbass war while staying committed to the Normandy Four arrangement and the Minsk Agreements, as per Tass.
The Geneva summit, which took place as part of the Strategic Stability Dialogue, was convened in reaction to Russia's massing of more than 100,000 soldiers on Ukraine's border and calls for the US and NATO to comply to Moscow's security demands, which were published in the form of two draft treaties.
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US, Russia agree to keep talking about Ukraine crisis despite talks not reaching a deal
President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin originally agreed on the Strategic Stability Dialogue in June as a platform for Washington and Moscow to directly debate security challenges and possible solutions. The group will meet for the third time this week, having previously convened in July and September.
The Strategic Stability Dialogue was established in June by President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin as a forum for Washington and Moscow to openly discuss security concerns and possible solutions. This week will be the group's third meeting, following meetings in July and September.
The discussions on Monday are the first of three scheduled this week in Europe between Russian officials and the US and its European allies and partners. The negotiations are aimed at preventing Russia from initiating a war against Ukraine. Sherman will then go to Brussels to inform NATO partners on the bilateral discussions with Russia, ahead of a Russia-NATO council meeting on Wednesday and an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe summit on Thursday.
As officials from Washington and Moscow meet to address the Kremlin's security demands, House Republicans presented legislation on Monday aimed at Russia for its military buildup near Ukraine. The GUARD Act, or the Guaranteeing Ukrainian Autonomy by Reinforcing its Defense Act, would strengthen Kyiv's defense capabilities while rejecting certain of Russia's demands, The Hill reported.
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