Moscow has stressed that it has not issued ultimatums to the NATO-Russia Council

 

 Russia has called for security guarantees in Europe for NATO's 30 allies on Wednesday, but insisted they were not ultimatums after intense talks with the United States in Geneva that failed to overcome the stalemate, reports Reuters.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg received Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko at Allied headquarters to try to reduce the highest tensions between East and West since the Cold War over the build-up of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.

 Moscow has dismissed fears expressed by the United States that it may plan to invade its neighbor, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the live-fire exercises on Ukraine's border on Tuesday were unrelated to talks with NATO.

"We do not negotiate from a position of strength; there is no room for ultimatums here, "he said in Moscow as talks began in Brussels.

But he said pan-European security was at a critical juncture and the West needed to address Russia's concerns about NATO's activities in former communist countries, which it sees as its backyard.

 NATO allies say the talks, the Alliance's most serious attempt to turn Ukraine's potential conflict into a political process, are being held because of Russian aggression, not the other way around.

"Let's be clear: Russia's actions have accelerated this crisis. "We are committed to using diplomacy to de-escalate the situation," US envoy to NATO Julian Smith told reporters Tuesday night.

"We want to see ... Russia withdraw its forces," she said of 100,000 troops stationed near Ukraine.

 NATO diplomats say the Western alliance would consider it a success if Russia agreed to hold further talks. The Allies are ready to negotiate with Moscow to increase openness over military exercises and to avoid accidental clashes that could provoke conflict, as well as arms control over missiles in Europe.

But NATO allies say many of Russia's demands in two draft treaties in December are unacceptable, including calls to reduce the Alliance's activities to the levels of the 1990s and promises not to admit new members.

 On Tuesday, Russia was gloomy about the prospect of more talks with the United States.

Grushko, Russia's former ambassador to NATO, said Russia wants to avoid confrontation. His direct counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who held talks with the United States in Geneva but was not in Brussels on Wednesday, said Ukraine should never be allowed to join NATO.

NATO has no immediate plans to accept Ukraine, but says Russia cannot dictate its relations with other sovereign states.

 Talks will continue Thursday in Vienna at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), a broader body representing Russia, the United States and Europeans.

"Our main goal is, in principle, to establish a dialogue. I think it is worth noting that there are no talks as such this week, "said US Ambassador to the OSCE Michael Carpenter, according to a transcript of his interview with Russia's Dozhd TV on Wednesday.