Kremlin: Russia-US talks inspire no significant optimism

By DASHA LITVINOVA
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin says it sees “no significant reason for optimism” following the highly anticipated Russia-U.S. talks over Ukraine and other security issues. The talks aimed at defusing tensions over Ukraine took place in Geneva on Monday and offered no sign of immediate progress. Moscow went in insisting on guarantees to halt NATO’s eastward expansion and even roll back the military alliance’s deployments in Eastern Europe — the demands that Washington had earlier firmly rejected as a nonstarter. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that “so far, let’s say, we see no significant reason for optimism.”