Blinken-Lavrov talks kick off in Geneva

Talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken have started in Geneva. During the event, the parties are expected to discuss issues of security guarantees.

Report informs, citing RIA Novosti, that the Russian and US delegations had arrived in Geneva the night before. The talks are expected to last several hours and be followed by separate press conferences of the two diplomats. After that, they are scheduled to meet with the President of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis, also the country's Foreign Minister.

At the end of 2021, Russia published drafts of a treaty with the United States and agreement with NATO on security guarantees. Moscow, in particular, demands from its Western partners the legal guarantees of refusing further eastward expansion of NATO, joining the Ukrainian bloc, and establishing military bases in post-Soviet countries.