Ukraine-related talks deadlocked in Geneva

More than seven hours of talks in Geneva On Jan. 10
between the U.S. and Russia yielded no progress regarding Russia’s military build-up
near Ukraine. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told reporters after the
meeting that the U.S. had pushed back on “non-starters” among the Russian
demands, washingtonpost.com reported. These demands include, essentially, a
roll-back of NATO’s membership and cooperation to exclude former Warsaw Pact
countries. However, in the broader European context, some negotiation was seen
as possible. Sherman stated that possible changes to the placement of American
intermediate range ballistic missiles and scope of military training were under
discussion. The two sides did agree to continue discussions.

Talks involving Russia now shift from Geneva to
Brussels, with the next major event being the NATO-Russia Council meeting
scheduled for Jan. 12 at NATO headquarters.

James Hydzik: The meeting
in Geneva ended as expected, with neither side budging when it comes to NATO
expansion in general or Ukraine’s security situation in particular. The
situation is not expected to change in the broader meetings with NATO and OSCE.
Some analysts point out that one possible gain for the Kremlin is the airing of
grievances and grabbing of the limelight on the world stage. If any
satisfaction has been gained by the Kremlin in that direction, the further
military supply of Ukrainians, both as an army and as insurgents (if there is
an invasion) is a very real and very high price to pay for it.