Russia and US to meet in Geneva as Ukraine war fears grow | Ukraine | The Guardian

Russia and US to meet in Geneva as Ukraine war fears grow | Ukraine | The Guardian: Diplomats%20from%20Russia%20and%20the%20US%20are%20to%20hold%20crucial%20talks%20as%20a%20weeks-long%20standoff%20over%20Ukraine%20teeters%20on%20the%20cusp%20of%20a%20pivotal%20and%20potentially%20violent%20phase%2C%20with%20rising%20concerns%20that%20Europe%20may%20again%20be%20beset%20by%20war.%0A%0AIntelligence%20services%20in%20Ukraine%20claimed%20to%20have%20evidence%20that%20Russia%20was%20secretly%20moving%20weapons%20and%20oil%20into%20eastern%20Ukraine.%0A%0AThe%20US%20secretary%20of%20state%2C%20Antony%20Blinken%2C%20and%20Russia%u2019s%20foreign%20minister%2C%20Sergey%20Lavrov%2C%20will%20meet%20in%20Geneva%20%u2013%20once%20a%20key%20cold%20war%20crossroads%20%u2013%20in%20an%20attempt%20to%20avert%20a%20possible%20Russian%20invasion%20of%20Ukraine%20amid%20Moscow%u2019s%20demands%20for%20concessions%20from%20Nato%20over%20its%20relationship%20with%20the%20former%20Soviet%20republic.%0A%0AOn%20Friday%20morning%2C%20Russia%20appeared%20to%20toughen%20its%20stance%20ahead%20of%20the%20day%u2019s%20talks.%20Its%20foreign%20ministry%20said%20Moscow%20was%20seeking%20guarantees%20from%20the%20west%20that%20included%20provisions%20requiring%20Nato%20forces%20to%20leave%20Romania%20and%20Bulgaria%2C%20countries%20that%20joined%20in%202004.%20That%20demand%20underscores%20the%20extent%20to%20which%20Vladimir%20Putin%20is%20seeking%20to%20recreate%20the%20Soviet%20Union%u2019s%20old%20sphere%20of%20influence.%0A%0AAdvertisement%0A%0AThe%20previous%20round%20of%20Russian-US%20talks%20on%2011%20January%20lasted%20eight%20hours%2C%20but%20the%20discussions%20at%20the%20President%20Wilson%20Hotel%20in%20Geneva%20are%20billed%20as%20briefer%20to%20see%20if%20there%20is%20any%20basis%20for%20diplomacy.%0A%0ABlinken%20on%20Thursday%20played%20down%20any%20prospects%20of%20an%20immediate%20fix%20in%20the%20Geneva%20talks%2C%20which%20will%20run%20for%20about%20two%20hours%2C%20saying%20any%20resolution%20to%20the%20difficult%20issues%20involved%20%u201Cwon%u2019t%20happen%20quickly%u201D%20and%20was%20certainly%20not%20expected%20by%20Friday.%0A%0AWashington%20and%20its%20allies%20have%20repeatedly%20promised%20%u201Csevere%u201D%20consequences%20such%20as%20biting%20economic%20sanctions%20%u2013%20though%20not%20military%20action%20%u2013%20against%20Russia%20if%20an%20invasion%20were%20to%20go%20ahead%20by%20the%20100%2C000%20Russian%20troops%20who%20have%20been%20positioned%20near%20the%20Ukrainian%20border%20for%20weeks.%0A%0AThe%20US%20president%2C%20Joe%20Biden%2C%20caused%20confusion%20among%20his%20allies%20just%20before%20the%20Geneva%20meeting%20when%20he%20hinted%20that%20western%20sanctions%20would%20depend%20on%20the%20extent%20of%20a%20Russian%20invasion.%20He%20distinguished%20between%20a%20%u201Cminor%20intrusion%u201D%20and%20an%20invasion%2C%20but%20he%20has%20now%20retracted%20that%20remark%20after%20an%20outcry%20in%20Kyiv.%0A%0ASeparately%2C%20Nato%u2019s%20secretary-general%2C%20Jens%20Stoltenberg%2C%20has%20invited%20Russia%20to%20attend%20a%20second%20meeting%20of%20the%20Nato-Russia%20council%20in%20which%20Nato%20would%20put%20forward%20detailed%20plans%20on%20confidence-building%20measures%2C%20arms%20control%2C%20including%20intermediate%20missiles%20and%20cyber%20warfare.%0A%0AOn%20Thursday%2C%20Liz%20Truss%2C%20the%20UK%20foreign%20secretary%2C%20warned%20Russia%20that%20any%20invasion%20of%20Ukraine%20would%20only%20lead%20to%20a%20disaster%20on%20the%20scale%20of%20the%20Soviet-Afghan%20war.%20Speaking%20at%20the%20Lowy%20Institute%20in%20Sydney%2C%20Australia%2C%20Truss%20framed%20the%20conflict%20in%20Ukraine%20as%20part%20of%20a%20wider%20dispute%20between%20what%20she%20saw%20as%20liberal%20states%20and%20autocracies%2C%20including%20Russia%20and%20China.%0A%0AShe%20urged%20Vladimir%20Putin%20to%20%u201Cdesist%20and%20step%20back%20from%20Ukraine%20before%20he%20makes%20a%20massive%20strategic%20mistake%u201D.%20The%20Kremlin%2C%20she%20said%2C%20%u201Chas%20not%20learned%20the%20lessons%20of%20history%u201D%20and%20an%20%u201Cinvasion%20will%20only%20lead%20to%20a%20terrible%20quagmire%20and%20loss%20of%20life%2C%20as%20we%20know%20from%20the%20Soviet-Afghan%20war%20and%20conflict%20in%20Chechnya.%u201D