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US, Russia Hold Talks to Ease Tensions over Ukraine

The United States and Russia have begun negotiations¹ in Geneva, Switzerland meant to ease tensions over Ukraine.

But the two sides have issued pessimistic statements about the talks.

The talks between Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov began Monday at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Geneva.

The talks are taking place while U.S.-Russia relations are at their most tense since the Cold War ended 30 years ago.

The Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva said on the social media service Twitter: "The talks promise to be long and substantial."

Sherman said, "The U.S. will listen to Russia's concerns and share our own" in an earlier tweet from Geneva. The U.S. diplomat² added that no discussions on European security would be held without other allies. Discussions will move to meetings in Brussels and Vienna later this week.

Nearly 100,000 Russian troops have gathered within reach of the border with Ukraine. The U.S. and Ukraine are concerned about a possible invasion. Eight years ago, Russia seized the Crimea Peninsula from the former Soviet³ republic.

Russia denies invasion plans. The country's officials have said Russia is answering, what it calls, aggressive behavior from the NATO military alliance and Ukraine. Ukraine is friendly with the West and aspires⁵ to join NATO.

Last month, Russia presented major security demands to the United States and its allies. Russia wants a ban on further NATO expansion. It also wants an end to the alliance's activity in Central and Eastern European countries that joined it after 1997.

The United States and NATO allies have said large parts of the Russian proposals are nonstarters.

"We need legal guarantees"

Ryabkov told R.I.A. news agency that Russia would not accept U.S. attempts to limit the talks to discussion of military exercises and missile deployments. Those are the issues that the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is willing to discuss.

Ryabkov said: "We need legal guarantees of the non-expansion of NATO and the elimination⁷ of everything that the alliance has created since 1997."

Russia had tried to show flexibility⁸ for the past 30 years and it was time for the other side to be flexible, he said. "If they are unable to do this, they will face a worsening situation in their own security."

The two sides also disagree over Russia's deployment⁶ of troops in Kazakhstan after an uprising there last week. Another issue of concern is Russia's support for Belarus in a migrant crisis on the EU's border. And U.S. officials are also concerned about Russia's supplying of gas to Europe. U.S. officials worry it is a way for Russia to gain political power over its neighbors.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will meet the Russian team on Wednesday in Brussels. He said Russia and the West could find a pathway to avoid conflict.

"What we are hoping for is that we can agree on a way forward, that we can agree on a series of meetings, that we can agree on a process," Stoltenberg said.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna appeared with Stoltenberg. She said Russia should not set conditions while its tanks remained near the Ukrainian border.

"Ukraine must be present"

On the streets of Kyiv, people questioned why their country was not involved directly in the talks.

"I think it should not be this way," said a 59-year-old man who gave his name as Oleh. "Ukraine must be present during those meetings because it is a more interested party than other countries...Ukraine must be sitting in the first row."

Russia has rejected Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy as a viable⁹ negotiating partner. However, the United States and other western governments have said they fully¹⁰ support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial¹¹ rights.

Ukraine is not a NATO member. It cannot expect alliance members to defend it. But Biden has repeatedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States and European allies would impose strong punishments if Russia chose to invade Ukraine. Putin has said new restrictions¹² could lead to a "complete breakdown¹³ in ties."

Words in This Story

pessimistic –adj. having or showing a lack of hope for the future; expecting bad things to happen

aspire⁴ –v. to want to reach a goal, to have or gain something

nonstarter –n. something that will not be effective or successful

elimination –n. the removal of something

flexibility –n. willing to change or to try something different

row –n. a line of seats in a theater (front row, first row: the first line of seats in a theater nearest the performance)

sovereignty –n. a country's independent authority and right to govern itself

1 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

5 aspires   

v.渴望，追求( aspire的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The fame to which he aspires was beyond his reach. 他追求的名誉乃是他所不能及的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• An old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand li. 老骥伏枥，志在千里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

7 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

8 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

9 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

12 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

13 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。