Ryabkov: Russia is not afraid of anyone, not even the United States.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister said Moscow was not afraid of Washington ahead of a meeting of Russian and US foreign ministers in Geneva to discuss tensions over Ukraine.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said today (Friday) that he was not afraid of the United States as he arrived in Geneva for a meeting with US diplomats to discuss escalating tensions over Ukraine.
“We are not afraid of anyone, not even the United States,” Ryabkov said in response to a question from a CBS News reporter who asked if Russia had intimidated Ukraine.
He made the remarks ahead of today’s meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Geneva. Ryabkov also said Washington had promised to respond to Moscow’s proposals on security guarantees next week.
According to Reuters, senior Russian and US diplomats saw little prospect of resolving their differences over Ukraine in Friday’s talks, but Blinken expressed hope that they could ease tensions over Ukraine.
Before the meeting, Lavrov told Blinken that he did not expect any progress in the talks, adding: “Our proposals are very tangible and we are waiting for concrete answers.”
“This is a critical moment,” Blinken said in a statement. You are right, we do not expect to resolve our differences here today. But I hope and expect that we will be able to test whether the path of diplomacy and dialogue is open or not. We are committed to taking this path and resolving our differences peacefully, and I hope to test this today.
In recent days, Russia has held unsuccessful security talks with the United States and NATO. Ahead of the Moscow-West Security Summit, Russia drafted proposals that included two demands related to its national security – preventing further NATO expansion into Eastern Europe and moving the bloc’s weapons away from the Russian border.