US ‘open to talks on missile deployments with Russia’ as part of effort to defuse Ukraine crisis
- US President Joe Biden has warned Russia will face severe economic consequences if Russian President Vladimir Putin were to launch an invasion of Ukraine
- A senior Biden administration official said the US is not willing to discuss limits on US troop deployments or the US force posture in Nato countries in the region
The United States and allies are prepared to discuss with Russia, in talks about Ukraine, the possibility of each side restricting military exercises and missile deployments in the region, a senior US administration official said on Saturday.
With crucial talks set to start on Monday in Geneva, the senior Biden administration official said the US is not willing to discuss limits on US troop deployments or the US force posture in Nato countries in the region.
One restriction, as described by a source familiar with the plan, could target critical Russian industrial sectors, including defence and civil aviation, and would invariably hit Russia’s hi-tech ambitions, such as in artificial intelligence or quantum computing, or even consumer electronics.
It remained unclear whether the United States and its European allies can make progress in the talks with Moscow. Putin wants an end to Nato’s eastward expansion and security guarantees, demands the US says are unacceptable.
But the senior US official, briefing reporters ahead of the talks, said some areas present opportunities for common ground.
“Any discussion of those overlapping areas where we might be able to make progress would have to be reciprocal,” the official said. “Both sides would need to make essentially the same commitment.”