• Today, before talks with the United States, the Kremlin announced the need for “non-standard solutions” due to the “geopolitical situation” in the world.
• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Friday that Western powers are prepared for the possibility of a breakdown in talks with Russia.
• Meanwhile, the alliance is bolstering its military capabilities along its eastern flank and has announced that it is preparing for potentially devastating economic sanctions for Russia.
• More important information can be found on Onet homepage

– Russia puts weapons in the temple of Ukraine with 100,000 soldiers near the border (Ukraine) – Blinkin said in a separate interview with ABC TV, commenting on the presence of troops on the border. – During the upcoming diplomatic talks we will be able to present our proposals. The Russians will do the same (…) and we will see if there are reasons to move forward – says Blinken in an interview with CNN.

The US Secretary of State stressed that progress in the negotiations depends on the actions of both sides. Washington hopes it will be possible to prevent a new Russian invasion of Ukraine. Blinken also noted that progress in the talks would be difficult due to the concentration of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine.

Blinken’s comments lowering expectations about upcoming talks come in response to Russia’s announcement that it would not make concessions to the United States regarding the crisis in Ukraine, Reuters notes.

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Russia “will not make any concessions under pressure and in the face of threats.”

Russia’s deputy chief of diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying earlier that Russia “will not make any concessions under pressure and in the face of constant threats from Western participants in the upcoming talks.” He also assessed that it was “quite likely” that diplomatic efforts would end abruptly after one meeting, and that “Americans should have no illusions about it.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov had already announced on Sunday that there would be no “concessions” from Russia. Russia’s deputy foreign minister said publicly that the United States, in his opinion, is not eager to listen to Moscow’s argumentsAnd the geopolitical situation requires, according to Russia, “non-standard solutions.” The Kremlin expects, among other things, a guarantee that NATO will not expand into Eastern Europe.

Stoltenberg: NATO will be ready to act if talks with Russia fail

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that Western powers are prepared for the possibility of a breakdown in talks with Russia, as well as the alliance bolstering its military capabilities along its eastern flank and preparing for potentially devastating economic sanctions if Moscow attacks Ukraine., by David Herzenhorn and Jacopo Barigazzi of Politico.

US diplomats previously announced that the United States intends in Geneva to listen to Russian proposals and present theirs to see if there is room for further discussion. However, they noted that this would only apply to bilateral issues, including on nuclear weapons. The US side also expressed reservations that it expects the Kremlin to provide misleading information about the course of the talks.

The Russian-US talks are scheduled to begin on Sunday evening, when a working meeting will be held in a narrow format with the participation of US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Ryabkov. Then discussions will begin in greater format on Monday.

(Source: PAP, Onet, POLITICO)