JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S., Russia hold talks amid tensions linked to Ukraine” – AP
“… U.S. and Russian officials launched special talks Monday aimed at defusing tensions over a Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine, part of a flurry of diplomatic activity in Europe …. No major breakthrough was immediately in sight. … Russia has said it wants the issue resolved this month, but NATO is wary that Putin might be looking for a pretext, such as a failure in the negotiations, to launch an invasion. The United States, which has emphasized that Ukraine’s government and those of other European countries need to be included in the discussions, plans to discuss some bilateral issues in Geneva ‘but will not discuss European security without our European allies and partners,’ [a State Department spokesman] said ….”