Russia and the US conclude negotiations in Geneva, the Ukraine issue is rarely mentioned

The meeting lasted about 7.5 hours, taking place behind closed doors, with the parties taking only a short break for lunch.

The Russian delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Deputy Defense Minister Alexandr Fomin. The US side was headed by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

The previous day, a preliminary meeting took place in the form of a working dinner. According to the results of the preliminary meeting, Mr. Ryabkov stated that the conversation was complex, but business-like. The diplomat stressed that Moscow is ready to listen to the US point of view, but constructive dialogue is possible only in the context of revising the decision of the Budapest summit on the future of Ukraine and Georgia in NATO.

The impetus for the meeting was a draft security agreement that Moscow sent to Washington and its allies in December. Specifically, the document includes provisions for both sides not to deploy medium- and short-range missiles within range of each other, to abandon further NATO expansion through former Soviet republics, and to reduce the number of military exercises.

Even before the consultations began, the United States declared that some proposals were unacceptable. Moscow stressed that the draft was not an ultimatum, but that Russia would not make unilateral concessions, especially under pressure.

At the same time, Deputy Minister Ryabkov did not rule out that the dialogue with the United States was limited to one meeting and that it would be useless to continue, but that threatened a new round of confrontation.

Russia and the US declare that they will not let nuclear war happen.

At a meeting in Geneva, the delegations of the United States and the Russian Federation confirmed that in a nuclear war no side can win and that such a war should not be provoked, US First Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told reporters at a press conference following the talks between Russia and the United States on security guarantees.

"The United States and Russia agree that nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought," a US State Department representative said in a telephone briefing from Geneva.

Russia does not see the United States ready to solve security issues

Russia does not see the readiness of the US side to solve the main question of Russia's security in a way that is suitable for Moscow, - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said after talks with the US side in Geneva.

“The main questions remain hanging there and we do not see the American side understanding that their solution should be in a way that suits us,” Ryabkov told journalists.