Blinken and Lavrov held a meeting: A crucial moment but also diametrically opposed views

(Patria) - The foreign ministers of Russia and the US are currently holding negotiations in Geneva on the situation in Ukraine. At the beginning of the meeting, which is a continuation of the diplomatic activities of both sides, Sergey Lavrov and Antony Blinken presented their diametrically opposed views on current events. In his address, Lavrov reiterated Moscow's stance that their proposals and demands regarding security guarantees must be discussed.

"Mr. Secretary of State, colleagues, we are very grateful to you for the proposal to hold talks in Geneva in the context of working on security guarantees. When you called me on the phone and suggested that we achieve greater clarity on our concerns, we believed it was a very good idea, as I believe it would help you arrive at concrete answers regarding our concerns and our proposals," said Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, at the beginning of his address, as reported by N1.

Lavrov states that they spent a significant part of yesterday familiarizing themselves with the large amount of information prepared by the State Department about alleged Russian disinformation.

"I read them with great interest, but I hope that not everyone in the State Department worked on these materials and that some worked on the substance and content of our proposals. I heard one of your recent statements during your European tour, in which you said that you do not expect great achievements from these negotiations," Lavrov told Blinken.

He adds that his side also does not expect major breakthroughs from these negotiations.

"What we expect are concrete answers to our concrete concerns and objections in accordance with the agreements made at the highest level within the OSCE. I am particularly referring to the principle of indivisible security and the obligation of countries not to strengthen their security at the expense of the security of other nations. We would be very happy to hear how the US views these principles and obligations," said Lavrov.

Responding to Lavrov's statements, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he came to Geneva with a clear, unified message from allies and partners, and that this side is prepared for a concrete response if Russia attacks Ukraine.

"This is part of ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions and prevent further Russian aggression against Ukraine. I come from consultations with allies and partners, as well as with Ukraine itself. This is also part of ongoing efforts to consult and coordinate with all our allies and partners to share our deep concerns at this moment. We are all equally and jointly committed to the path of dialogue and diplomacy to try to resolve our differences," Blinken stated at the beginning of his response.

However, he adds that they are committed that, if this fails, and if Russia decides to take aggression against Ukraine – they will have a united, tough, and swift response.

"I want to take this opportunity to share directly with you the common view of allies and partners, as well as concrete ideas on some of the concerns you have raised, as well as many concerns we have about Russian activities. I will clearly highlight the fundamental principles we are prepared to defend. Also, Sergey, I want to say that we must discuss American citizens Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed, who have been tortured, detained, and convicted in Russia without concrete evidence, and ask Russia to do the right thing and let them return home," the US Secretary of State told his Russian counterpart.

He emphasized that this is indeed a crucial moment, but that he does not expect their differences to be resolved today in Geneva, but rather hopes and expects that they can see if the path of diplomacy and dialogue remains open.

"We are ready to walk that path and resolve our differences peacefully, and I hope that today we can test these proposals and see where we can go after today," said Blinken.

Press conferences of the ministers are expected later in the afternoon, followed by a likely reaction from the official Kremlin to the positions presented by Moscow and Washington.