US, Russia meet for talks amid tensions linked to Ukraine

By KONSTANTIN MANENKOV and JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — Senior U.S. and Russian officials have formally launched special talks on strategic stability as part of a flurry of diplomatic activity in Europe this week aimed at defusing tensions over a Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov led a delegation arriving by Swiss police escort at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Geneva for the latest round of face-to-face talks with Wendy Sherman, the U.S. deputy secretary of state, and her team. The meeting is part of “Strategic Security Dialogue” talks launched by Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin during a June summit. Western concerns have been raised because Russia has amassed over 100,000 troops on the border of Ukraine.