Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov is set to go head-to-head with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Switzerland on Friday, Moscow has confirmed, amid strained relations with Washington.
Speaking during a briefing on Thursday, the spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, disclosed that the two envoys will negotiate in Geneva on January 21.
According to her, the diplomats will discuss the Kremlin’s proposals, which are aimed at signing “security guarantees,” limiting the expansion of NATO toward Russia’s borders, and trying to “determine possible further steps” for negotiations on assurances aimed at enhancing safety on the European continent.
Last week, Russian diplomats held crunch talks with NATO representatives on security issues, following on from prior discussions between officials from Washington and Moscow.
Speaking last Friday, Lavrov stressed that Russia is becoming increasingly weary of the actions of Western powers. Moscow’s “patience has come to an end. We are very patient … we have been harnessing [burdens] for a very long time, and now it’s time for us to go,” he cautioned.