US, Russia to hold arms control, Ukraine talks early January

The United States and Russia will hold much-anticipated talks in January, a White House official told AFP Monday (27 December), with the rivals due to negotiate on nuclear arms control and mounting tensions over Ukraine.

File photo. Flags of the US and Russia are seen during the US-Russia summit in Geneva, Switzerland, 16 June 2021. US President Biden and Russian President Putin meet in Geneva on 16 June for face-to-face talks. [Pool/EPA/EFE]

Euractiv.com with AFP 28-12-2021 07:19 3 min. read Content type: Euractiv is part of the Trust Project

The United States and Russia will hold much-anticipated talks in January, a White House official told AFP Monday (27 December), with the rivals due to negotiate on nuclear arms control and mounting tensions over Ukraine.

"The United States looks forward to engaging with Russia," a spokesperson for the National Security Council said, on condition of anonymity.

"When we sit down to talk, Russia can put its concerns on the table and we will put our concerns on the table with Russia's activities as well."

Bilateral talks are scheduled for 10 January, the spokesperson said.

Moscow and NATO representatives are then expected to meet 12 January, while Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which includes the United States, will meet 13 January, the spokesperson added.

Moscow considering NATO proposal to hold talks on 12 January

Russia has received a NATO proposal to commence talks on Moscow's security concerns on 12 January and is considering it, TASS news agency quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying on Sunday (26 December).

The 10 January meeting will be held as part of the Strategic Security Dialogue initiative launched by US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at their summit in Geneva last June.

Biden, Putin hail positive talks, but bad blood stays on

Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin sought to cool tensions in the dangerously spiraling US-Russian relationship at their first summit in Geneva on Wednesday (16 June), with the US president saying his Kremlin counterpart doesn't want a new Cold War.

While that format is mostly consecrated to resuscitating post-Cold War nuclear arms control treaties, the talks will also cover the standoff over Ukraine, where Russia has deployed a large combat force on the border, a senior White House official said, also on condition of anonymity.

The NATO-Russia Council meeting and the talks between Moscow and the OSCE's Permanent Council are slated to focus on Ukraine.

No cutting out Ukraine

Western capitals accuse Putin of threatening to invade Ukraine, a former Soviet territory seeking to break from Moscow's sphere of influence and eventually join the NATO alliance.

Russia already occupies a swath of Ukraine in the Crimean peninsula and is accused of fomenting a separatist pro-Moscow rebellion in the industrial east of the country.

Deployment by Russia of tens of thousands of new troops to the border sparked fears in Kiev and among its Western allies of a wider war, possibly including further seizures of Ukrainian territory.

Putin denies planning to attack the neighboring country, saying the troop movements are to defend Russia against an encroaching Western military.

This month he issued a series of far-reaching security demands to Western countries that included barring Ukraine from getting NATO membership.

In response, the United States and its European partners have threatened to impose harsh economic sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine, while also offering to hold negotiations.

The National Security Council spokesperson said Ukraine's interests would not be ignored in cutting any deal with Russia.

Negotiations will include "nothing about our allies and partners without our allies and partners, including Ukraine," the spokesperson said.

"President Biden's approach on Ukraine has been clear and consistent: unite the alliance behind two tracks -- deterrence and diplomacy. We are unified as an alliance on the consequences Russia would face if it moves on Ukraine," the spokesperson added.

"But we are also unified in our willingness to engage in principled diplomacy with Russia."

There was no immediate word on who would represent the two sides on 10 January.

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