Momentum was building Thursday for direct talks between US President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin as both sides sought to avoid a “nightmare” confrontation over Ukraine.
The Russian and US foreign ministers came face to face in Sweden to discuss recent allegations raised by Kiev and its Western allies that Russia could invade ex-Soviet Ukraine this winter.
For weeks, Western nations have been warning that Russia is massing troops along Ukraine’s border, escalating tensions in a region where a long-running conflict has already claimed the lives of 13,000 people.
Moscow, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and backs separatists fighting Kiev, has rejected any plans to attack, blaming NATO for inflaming tensions.
After meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged for “long-term security guarantees” on his country’s borders to block NATO’s eastward expansion.
As Lavrov warned that the “nightmare scenario of a military clash” in Europe was returning, Blinken predicted that “the presidents will certainly communicate personally in the near future.”
Russia also stated that it expects Putin and Biden to make “contact” in the coming days.
“The date has not yet been agreed. There are difficulties in aligning the calendars of the two leaders, but contact is very necessary, our problems are multiplying,” said Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
