Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said this week's talks between Russia and mecidiyeköy escort the West over escalating tensions in Ukraine could end today if the US and NATO are not willing to show 'flexibility'.
Ryabkov and his delegation arrived in Geneva earlier this morning under Swiss police mecidiyeköy escort for face-to-face talks with Wendy Sherman, the US deputy secretary of state.
Today's diplomacy will be followed by Russia-NATO talks in Brussels on Wednesday, before a meeting in Vienna of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe later this week.
But Ryabkov said he is willing to end the talks on the first day if the US is not willing to make certain concessions, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday: 'I don't think we're going to see any breakthroughs in the coming week.'
Nearly 100,000 Russian troops are gathered within reach of the border with Ukraine in preparation for what Washington and Kyiv say could be a new invasion, eight years after the annexation of Crimea.
Russia however has denied a planned invasion and said the military buildup comes as a response to 'aggressive behavior' from NATO, and fears the alliance would increase their military presence close to Russian borders should Ukraine be granted membership.
Meanwhile, residents in Ukraine have questioned why international negotiations over the fate of the country are being held without any representation for the Ukrainian government.
Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, right, stands alongside US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman at the United States Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Jan. 10, 2022
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and head of delegation Sergei Ryabkov (pictured 2019) has said talks with the US could end on the first day if the US and NATO are unwilling to be flexible
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman (pictured August 2021) meets with Ryabkov and the Russian delegation to discuss escalating tensions in Ukraine
The amassing of Russian troops and equipment near Ukraine's border has caused worries in Kyiv and in the West that Moscow could be planning to launch an invasion.