U.S., Russia Agree to Preserve Negotiating to Defuse Ukraine Disaster

Mr. Blinken, after meeting his Russian counterpart, International Minister

Sergei Lavrov,

acknowledged that the U.S. would also post its enjoy security proposals and that the two sides deliberate to meet once more. In Washington later, White Dwelling spokeswoman

Jen Psaki

indicated the U.S. wouldn’t accept as true with to the Kremlin’s key request that Ukraine be forbidden to mark up for the NATO alliance.

“We’ve been very clear about what we’re now not negotiating on, which is the sovereignty of Ukraine, which is that this request that’s repeatedly raised about Ukraine’s simply to pursue becoming a member of NATO,” she acknowledged. “That’s as a lot as NATO international locations to develop that resolution.”

Mr. Blinken acknowledged after meeting Mr. Lavrov, “There just isn’t any commerce location there—none.”

President Biden will meet with his nationwide-security team this weekend at Camp David, Ms. Psaki acknowledged, adding that he modified into birth to one other summit with Russian President

Vladimir Putin.

Russia has massed about 100,000 troops approach Ukraine in response to what it says are threats to its security from NATO and Western powers. The switch has created indubitably one of the most worst crises between Russia and the West since the Chilly Battle, with many fearing Russia will invade its smaller neighbor.

Moscow has acknowledged Russia feels threatened by the likelihood that NATO also can develop greater toward its borders and provides that Ukraine shouldn’t be free to mark up for an alliance that the Kremlin sees as a hazard to its interests.

“I could presumably imply that the placement of Ukraine is now extra important for Russia than for Ukraine itself,” Deputy International Minister

Sergei Ryabkov

told The Wall Toll road Journal earlier this month.

Russian officers own denied any map to invade Ukraine, however the Russian International Ministry warned Friday after the talks that “further ignoring the legitimate concerns of the Russian Federation…may perhaps own the most severe consequences.”

Moscow’s important purpose has been to forestall NATO’s eastward growth, in explicit into Ukraine, which currently has made clear its desire to mark up for the alliance. Russia has also demanded that NATO curb defense power workout routines in Ukraine and other mature Soviet states and prohibit defense power deployments on the territory of the alliance’s Eastern European participants. The Kremlin in December requested a written response to its demands, a switch the U.S. had resisted until Friday.

Whereas U.S. and Western officers own rejected those demands, Mr. Blinken agreed on Friday to answer intimately to Russia’s concerns and propose reciprocal strikes to pork up security within the scrape.

“We’re going to part with Russia a response to the worries that it’s raised, our enjoy concerns, and attach some tips on the table for consideration, and then we plot to meet once more after Russia’s had the replacement to test out at that paper,” Mr. Blinken told reporters after meeting with Mr. Lavrov. “And we’ll glimpse the build we skedaddle from there.”

Mr. Lavrov acknowledged Friday the response from the U.S. to Moscow’s demands amounted to extra of the equivalent.

“At the present time we heard some repetition of arguments relating to the liberty to net alliances,” he acknowledged. “Nonetheless…the liberty to net alliances is trot by the needn’t to grab any steps that can pork up the safety of 1 issue to the detriment of the safety of other states.”

The principle aspects of the U.S.’s written response usually are now not seemingly to fluctuate from what Washington officers own acknowledged publicly. NATO international locations own rejected calls to freeze the alliance’s membership, though President Biden acknowledged Wednesday that it modified into “now not very seemingly” that Ukraine may perhaps presumably be admitted to NATO within the approach term. U.S. officers own already laid out proposals for reciprocal reductions in missile deployments and defense power workout routines in Europe.

Following the talks, a senior U.S. respectable acknowledged it modified into exhausting to mark the diplomatic display screen succeeding if Moscow didn’t de-escalate within the scrape, which the U.S. has beforehand outlined as a redeployment of troops faraway from the border.

After extra than one rounds of talks, Russian and American interests haven’t overlapped sufficient to develop development. Washington expects to grab extra after Mr. Putin gets the written response and Moscow responds in turn, senior administration officers acknowledged.

“We didn’t request of any critical breakthroughs to happen on the present time, however I narrate we’re now on a clear route by activity of understanding one but any other touching on one but any other’s positions,” Mr. Blinken acknowledged.

Ukrainian Protection Minister

Oleksiy Reznikov

acknowledged Kyiv hoped and expected the U.S. wouldn’t give in to Moscow’s demands on NATO.

“The entire Americans promised is a response in writing, that’s it,” Mr. Reznikov told the Journal. “I feel [Russia] will derive a solution of, ‘Sorry, we are able to appreciate all integrity, all sovereignty, all rights to be a member of international ally organizations, fixed with international legislation.’ ”

Mr. Reznikov cited the refrain from Mr. Blinken and NATO Secretary-Odd

Jens Stoltenberg

that Kyiv wouldn’t be sidelined in an closing resolution: “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”

“We hope that we glimpse that on paper also,” Mr. Reznikov acknowledged.

Meanwhile, each facet own persevered to switch weapons into build for a imaginable battle. Whereas U.S., European and Russian diplomats held negotiations in Europe closing week, Russia began moving tanks, infantry-combating autos, rocket launchers and other gear westward from their bases in its Far East, fixed with U.S. officers and social-media experiences.

Russia on Thursday offered it may perhaps perhaps perhaps presumably withhold dapper-scale naval workout routines engaging 140 warships and 60 airplane within the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. On Friday, the Russian navy began a trilateral say with Iranian and Chinese ships within the Indian Ocean.

In addition to the troops approach Ukraine’s border, Russia is moving troops and S-400 ground-to-air missile methods into Belarus, which borders Ukraine and NATO participants Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. Moscow says the troops will grab piece in joint snap defense power workout routines subsequent month.

The airplane service USS Harry S. Truman and a fleet of accompanying ships will grab piece in a NATO-led say within the Mediterranean Sea starting up Monday, the Pentagon acknowledged. Spokesman John Kirby acknowledged the 11-day prolonged NATO workout routines were unrelated to tensions along the Ukrainian border.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has cleared the Baltic nations of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, exhausting on Russia’s border, to ship to Ukraine U.S.-made Javelin antitank weapons and Stinger air-defense methods, U.S. officers acknowledged.

Germany, nonetheless, has declined to permit the export of deadly weapons straight to Ukraine, or even in a roundabout diagram thru third international locations cherish Estonia, which has bought German-foundation artillery. It is an illustration of the broader lines in all places in the Western alliance which own emerged in contemporary weeks over easy suggestions to relief Ukraine—and what to include among the many severe financial penalties U.S. and European officers own acknowledged may perhaps presumably be imposed if Russia assaults.

—Michael R. Gordon, Alex Leary and Nancy A. Youssef in Washington contributed to this article.

Write to William Mauldin at william.mauldin@wsj.com, Ann M. Simmons at ann.simmons@wsj.com and Vivian Salama at vivian.salama@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications

Sooner than Secretary of Remark Antony Blinken’s meeting with his Russian counterpart on Friday, he had acknowledged he wouldn’t present any written statements on Russia’s requests. Following Friday’s meeting, Mr. Blinken acknowledged he would provide a written response. Sooner than Mr. Blinken had modified route, an earlier version of this article incorrectly acknowledged he would provide a written response. (Corrected on Jan. 21)