Russia and the United States set talks on Ukraine for Friday (21)

Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on Tuesday (18) that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet in Geneva on Friday (21) to discuss security guarantees. that Moscow has asked Western powers to back off on Ukraine-related tensions.

Russia has more than 100,000 men on the border with the country, a former Soviet republic, and is trying to derail the nation’s entry into NATO, which, according to the Russians, would pave the way for a territorial advance by Western powers in Eastern Europe.

Russian newspaper Kommersant, which broke the news, said the two diplomats had agreed to the meeting in a phone call on Tuesday. The call was later confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Secretariat.

Blinken is due to arrive in Ukraine on Wednesday (19) and is expected to hold talks in Berlin before meeting with Lavrov in Geneva.

Russia calls for an end to ‘speculation’

During the phone call between the authorities, the Russian minister asked Blinken not to fuel speculation about an alleged “Russian aggression” on Ukraine. Both discussed the possibility of arranging other meetings in the near future, according to the ministry itself.

The US State Department confirmed that Blinken spoke with Lavrov. The American secretary would have asked for a diplomatic path to ease tensions around Russia’s military escalation in Ukraine.

Blinken reiterated the United States’ commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and said that any discussion on European security must include NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies and European partners, including Ukraine, the US department said in a statement. communicated.

Texts by Polina Devitt, Anastasia Teterevleva and Paul Grant; edited by Andrew Osborn, Catherine Evans and Susan Heavey, Reuters