US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Geneva city of Switzerland, as part of the diplomatic initiatives carried out to prevent Russia from attempting a military operation against Ukraine. The critical meeting, in which the draft security guarantee agreement presented by Russia to the US and NATO, the functioning of diplomatic missions between the sides, and cyber security and strategic stability will be discussed, was held at the Hotel President Wilson. 12 people from US and Russian delegation participated the meeting, apart from Lavrov and Blinken.
In his statement at the beginning of the meeting, Lavrov thanked his US counterpart Blinken and his delegation, and said, “State Secretary, colleagues, we’re very grateful to you for this proposal to hold talks in Geneva in the context of the work that was started on the security guarantees.”
“So I heard one of your last statements during your European tour when you said that you did not expect a breakthrough from these negotiations. We do not expect a breakthrough at these negotiations either. What we expect is concrete answers to our concrete proposals in the vein and in compliance with the obligations that were adopted at the highest level within the OSCE,” Lavrov said, addressing Blinken.
On the other hand, Blinken reminded that the US and Russia held consultations on security issues in Geneva on January 10, the NATO-Russia Council meeting was held in Brussels on January 12, and the OSCE Permanent Council meeting was held in Vienna on January 13. “We’ve now had a chance to reflect on what we’ve each heard. I think the Russian team has had a chance to consult with President Putin. All of us have had a chance to consult among ourselves, all of the allies and partners. And this is an important moment, I think, to take stock of where we are with Foreign Minister Lavrov, to see what conclusions Russia draws from these diplomatic conversations, to tell Russia exactly where we are” Blinken said.
“This is a critical moment. You’re right, we don’t expect to resolve our differences here today. But I do hope and expect that we can test whether the path of diplomacy, of dialogue, remains open. We’re committed to walking that path, to resolving our differences peacefully, and I hope we can test that proposition today and see where we go from here,” Blinken said, addressing Lavrov.