There was no breakthrough in the standoff over Ukraine after the top U.S. and Russian diplomats emerged separately from their meeting in Geneva only to retread old ground and agree to keep talking.
It was a bruising week for the U.S. after President Joe Biden slipped up in a news conference and laid bare divisions among his allies over what they would do in case of a “minor incursion” by Russia into Ukraine. That left Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the uncomfortable position of clarifying the U.S. position as he went into his one-to-one with counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
Both men essentially talked past each other, reinstating demands that the other side considers non-starters. Russia wants assurances that Ukraine will never join NATO and essentially wants an entire rethink of the post-war military alliance. The U.S. is trying to get on the same page with the European Union on how to de-escalate tensions and convince Russia to take its threat of sanctions seriously.
