US, Russia meet for talks amid tensions linked to Ukraine

Geneva: Senior US and Russian officials launched special talks on Monday on strategic stability, part of a flurry of diplomatic activity in Europe this week aimed at defusing tensions over a Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine, though no major breakthrough was immediately in sight.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and his delegation arrived under Swiss police escort at the US diplomatic mission in Geneva for face-to-face talks with Wendy Sherman, the US deputy secretary of state, and her team.

The meeting is part of Strategic Security Dialogue talks on arms control and other broad issues launched by Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin during a June summit in the Swiss city.

After an informal working dinner on Sunday, Ryabkov predicted difficult talks in Geneva that are to be followed by a NATO-Russia meeting in Brussels on Wednesday and a meeting Thursday in Vienna of the multilateral Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.