WASHINGTON:Jan 8,2022: The United States and its allies are prepared to discuss with Russia in talks about Ukraine the possibility of each side restricting military exercises and missile deployments in the region, a senior US administration official said on Saturday (Jan 8).
With a crucial set of talks set to start on Monday in Geneva, the senior Biden administration official said the United States is not willing to discuss limits on US troop deployments or the US force posture in NATO countries in the region.
The Geneva talks, to be followed by other sessions in Brussels and Vienna, are aimed at averting a crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin has massed tens of thousands of troops along the border with Ukraine, generating fears of an invasion.
Whether the United States and its European allies can make progress in the talks with Moscow is far from clear. Putin wants an end to NATO’s eastward expansion and security guarantees, demands the United States says are unacceptable.
But the senior US official, briefing reporters ahead of the talks, said there are some areas that present an opportunity for common ground.
Russia says it feels threatened by the prospect of the United States deploying offensive missile systems in Ukraine despite assurances from President Joe Biden to Putin that he has no intention of doing so.
