[News] To avoid the crisis in Ukraine, Washington announces its readiness to discuss arrangements with Russia regarding missiles and exercises

[Mr.Bada]

A senior White House official announced yesterday, Saturday, the readiness of the United States to discuss with Russia arrangements regarding missiles and military exercises for the two countries during bilateral talks that were likely to start this evening in Geneva, in an attempt to defuse tension between the West and Moscow, which is accused of preparing to invade Ukraine.https://www.aljazeera.net/news/politics/2022/1/9/لتجنب-الأزمة-في-أوكرانيا-واشنطن-تعلن

The US official said that negotiating with Russia over the status or number of US forces in Europe is not on the table during the upcoming talks in Geneva. He pointed out that Washington is open to discussing the issues of missile deployment in Europe, and the future of US and NATO military exercises.US and Russian diplomats are meeting in Switzerland on Sunday - before the main meeting on Monday - to try to defuse tensions over Ukraine, in light of accusations leveled by the United States and Europeans against Moscow of preparing for a new invasion of Ukraine. "There are some areas (...) in which we believe it is possible to make progress," the US official added in a conference call, "provided that the pledges are "reciprocal."The senior White House official confirmed that Washington was ready to discuss "the possibility of reciprocal restrictions on the size and scope" of military exercises conducted by Russia, the United States and NATO. US President Joe Biden had previously warned that Russia would face dire economic consequences if Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, and US officials on Saturday provided more details of the tough sanctions that could be imposed.One limitation, a source familiar with the plan described, could target important Russian industrial sectors including defense and civil aviation, and that would permanently affect Russia's ambitions in high-tech fields such as artificial intelligence.Russia may be added to a group of countries that face severe restrictions, for the purposes of controlling exports, namely Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria, according to the source. The Russian president wants security guarantees and an end to NATO's eastward expansion, demands the United States says are unacceptable. Russia says it feels threatened by the possibility of the United States deploying offensive missile systems in Ukraine, although Biden has assured Putin that he has no intention of doing so.