Russia notes no progress on talks with US over Ukraine, NATO

By KONSTANTIN MANENKOV and JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — A top Russian diplomat pressed the United States to ease a post-Cold War chill over Ukraine, ratcheting up Moscow’s demands that NATO pledge to stop giving membership to former Soviet states and halt weapons shipments to them that have led to a “precarious” standoff. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov spoke after his delegation wrapped up roughly 5-1/2 hours of talks with a U.S. team led by his U.S. counterpart, Wendy Sherman, as part of ongoing dialogue between the two countries. A Russian military buildup of some 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border has raised concerns in the West of an invasion.