<br><div><aside class="gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el" aria-label="Video - US, NATO reject Russian demands on pact expansion"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">WASHINGTON – With the fate of Ukraine and potentially broader post-Cold War European stability at stake, the United States and Russia are holding strategic talks that could shape the future of not only their relationship but the U.S. relationship with its NATO allies. Prospects are bleak.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Though the immediacy of the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine will top the agenda of high-level meetings that get underway Monday, there is a litany of festering but largely unrelated disputes, ranging from arms control to cybercrime and diplomatic issues, for Washington and Moscow to overcome if tensions are to ease. The <a target="_blank" href="/story/news/world/2022/01/09/kazakhstans-week-protests-led-164-deaths/9149496002/" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":b|e|inline click|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">deployment of Russian troops to Kazakhstan</a> may cast a shadow over the exercise.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Both sides warned of the dire consequences of failure, positioning themselves for a flurry of activity in Europe this week. The wide divergence in their opening positions bodes ill for any type of speedy resolution, and levels of distrust are higher than at any other point since the collapse of the Soviet Union.</p><figure class="gnt_em gnt_em_img"><img class="gnt_em_img_i" style="height:456px" data-g-r="lazy" src="https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2022/01/09/USAT/6893bbba-81dc-48dd-86a1-a880cd17f758-AP_Ukraine_Russia.jpg?width=660&height=456&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp" srcset="https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2022/01/09/USAT/6893bbba-81dc-48dd-86a1-a880cd17f758-AP_Ukraine_Russia.jpg?width=1320&height=912&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp 2x" decoding="async" alt="Activists demonstrate a huge Ukrainian national flag during a SayNOtoPutin rally near St. Michael cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 9, 2022. Ukrainians hold similar rallies worldwide urging world leaders say no to Putin foreign policy. The rallies were timed to Jan. 10 talks between Washington and Moscow amid a stunning deployment of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border and in Kazakhstan."/></figure><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">"I don't think we're going to see any breakthroughs in the coming week," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on CNN's "State of the Union." He said a more likely positive outcome would be an agreement to de-escalate tensions in the short term and return to talks at an appropriate time.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Blinken said any moves by the United States, NATO and Europe "must be reciprocal" and the West would not agree to any unilateral concessions.</p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">"If we're actually going to have progress, we're...</p></div> <style> .wrapper { text-align: center; } </style> <div class="wrapper"> <a class="button" href ="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/09/us-russia-prepare-meet-geneva-over-ukraine/9149497002/">Read more <span>➤</span></a> </div>
