Russia and US to meet in Geneva as Ukraine war fears grow, no The Guardian.
[...] «The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, will meet in Geneva – once a key cold war crossroads – in an attempt to avert a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine amid Moscow’s demands for concessions from Nato over its relationship with the former Soviet republic.
On Friday morning, Russia appeared to toughen its stance ahead of the day’s talks. Its foreign ministry said Moscow was seeking guarantees from the west that included provisions requiring Nato forces to leave Romania and Bulgaria, countries that joined in 1997. That demand underscores the extent to which Vladimir Putin is seeking to recreate the Soviet Union’s old sphere of influence.»
[...] «The US president, Joe Biden, caused confusion among his allies just before the Geneva meeting when he hinted that western sanctions would depend on the extent of a Russian invasion. He distinguished between a “minor intrusion” and an invasion, but he has now retracted that remark after an outcry in Kyiv.»
