U.S., Russia Set Ukraine-Talks Schedule --- The Kremlin has deployed 100,000 troops near the border, the U.S. estimates

"WASHINGTON -- The U.S. and Russia agreed to hold security talks on Jan. 10, amid tensions over Russian forces deployed near Ukraine, and Moscow's demands that NATO renounce any expansion eastward into the former Soviet bloc.

No sign has emerged that the two sides have been able to narrow their differences concerning Moscow's core demand that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization sever its military ties to Ukraine and Georgia, and rescind past statements that they eventually would join the alliance.

"When we sit down to talk, Russia can put its concerns on the table, and we will put our concerns on the table with Russia's activities as well," a spokesman for President Biden's National Security Council said Tuesday. "There will be areas where we can make progress, and areas where we will disagree."

Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that he expected the talks to focus on security proposals the Kremlin provided the U.S. this month that would preclude NATO's expansion eastward and Western military activities near Russia's periphery.

"These items are all integral items of our stance," Mr. Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency. "We cannot do without a serious discussion of those exact themes in the course of the forthcoming contacts."

Russia initially proposed direct talks with the U.S. The Biden administration suggested the parallel meetings to counter the impression that the discussions would lead to a new division of Europe into spheres of influence that would be established without involvement of U.S. allies. "We will adhere to the principle of 'nothing about our allies and partners without our allies and partners, including Ukraine,'" the NSC spokesman said.

The U.S.-Russia talks will be held in Geneva as part of a security dialogue the two sides have used to discuss nuclear weapons and other military issues. They are likely to be led by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Mr. Ryabkov, who represented the two sides in previous sessions.

The Geneva meeting would likely be followed on Jan. 12 by broader talks in Brussels in the NATO-Russia Council, an alliance forum for discussing security concerns with Moscow. Those discussions, if held as expected, would mark the first time that this council has met in more than two years.

On Jan. 13, there would be another meeting to discuss issues between Russia and European nations in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

 

Russia has massed troops near Ukraine that U.S. officials estimate number around 100,000 and project could reach 175,000 for an invasion, with the battalion-tactical groups operating as front-line forces. U.S. officials said last week that Russia had 53 battalion-tactical groups near the Ukrainian border. Each group includes about 800 troops.

 

U.S. officials said Russia's military buildup continues with no sign of a pullback. They cited a narrow window to avoid Russian military action, given reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin's timetable for action is early 2022.

 

The U.S. has flown RC-135 and E-8 reconnaissance planes over Ukraine in recent days to monitor Russian military deployments, according to flight-tracking data. The RC-135 gathers electronic intelligence, while the E-8 uses radar to track ground forces.

 

On Tuesday, U.S. officials said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered a carrier-strike group to remain in the Mediterranean Sea instead of traveling through the Suez Canal to the Middle East as had been planned. The USS Harry S. Truman will stay near its current location in the Ionian Sea between Greece and Italy, the officials added.

Mr. Biden has ruled out sending combat troops to Ukraine, but American officials have warned that the U.S. would reinforce positions on the territory of NATO's Eastern European nations if the Russian military attacks Ukraine.

 

Ukraine has requested high-tech antimissile systems from the U.S., said Ukrainian and U.S. officials close to the situation. So far, the Biden administration has refrained from sending such systems or providing helicopters once allocated for the now-defunct Afghan military that are being repaired in Ukraine.

 

Though it hasn't stepped up its military support to Ukraine, the U.S. is constantly assessing the country's defense needs, and is delivering defensive assistance that had been planned before the recent Russian buildup near Ukraine, national security adviser Jake Sullivan has said.

 

In the event Russia invades Ukraine, the Biden administration has vowed to impose severe economic sanctions, step up military assistance to Kyiv, and reinforce deployments in NATO member states along the alliance's eastern flank, officials have said.

The press office for the Russian armed forces' Southern Military District said Saturday that 10,000 troops who had been involved in exercises on training ranges would be returning to their bases. There appeared to be "no established connection between the conclusion of that exercise and Russian forces deployed near Ukraine," said Michael Kofman, an expert on the Russia military at CNA Corp." [1]

1.  World News: U.S., Russia Set Ukraine-Talks Schedule --- The Kremlin has deployed 100,000 troops near the border, the U.S. estimates
Gordon, Michael R. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 29 Dec 2021: A.6.