Senior officials to lead Russia-US security talks in Geneva

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will lead security talks in Geneva on January 10, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, amid rising tensions over Ukraine.

Russia is then set to hold talks with NATO in Brussels on January 12, before a broader meeting including Russia, the United States and other European countries on January 13, which Russia’s foreign ministry said would take place in Vienna, Reuters reported.

Russia has alarmed Western countries by massing tens of thousands of troops near its border with Ukraine in the past two months. Moscow denies planning to attack Ukraine and says it has the right to move its troops on its own soil as it sees fit.

Moscow, worried by what it says is the West’s re-arming of Ukraine, has said it wants legally-binding guarantees from the NATO military alliance over its eastern expansion and weapons deployment.

“During the talks we will seek firm legal guarantees of Russia’s security from the US side, namely that NATO will not move eastwards and that weapons systems threatening Russia will not be deployed near our borders,” Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, told a briefing on Thursday.

The January 13 talks will involve the Vienna-based Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which includes the United States and its NATO allies, as well as Russia, Ukraine and other ex-Soviet states.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden are scheduled to hold a phone call at 2030 GMT on Thursday.