U.S., Russia meet for 'substantial' talks, but breakthroughs on Ukraine appear unlikely

After days of pessimistic statements on both sides, the United States and Russia began tough negotiations in Geneva on Monday that Washington hopes can avert the danger of a new Russian invasion of Ukraine without conceding to the Kremlin's far-reaching security demands.

The talks between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman began at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Geneva with U.S.-Russia relations at their most tense since the Cold War ended three decades ago.

The pair made only brief eye contact when they posed for photographs beforehand.

"The talks promise to be long and substantial," the Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva tweeted, with a picture of the two lead negotiators standing in front of their national flags.

Sherman said "the U.S. will listen to Russia's concerns and share our own" in an earlier tweet from Geneva, adding that no discussions on European security would be held without the presence of other allies. Discussions will move to meetings in Brussels and Vienna later this week.

WATCH | Recap of the most recent phone discussion between Biden, Putin:

Ryabkov has said the diplomacy could end after a single meeting, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken played down expectations for the high-stakes talks.

"I don't think we're going to see any breakthroughs in the coming week," Blinken said in a CNN interview on Sunday.

Nearly 100,000 Russian troops are gathered within reach of the border with Ukraine in preparation for what Washington and Kyiv say could be a new invasion, eight years after Russia seized Crimea from the former Soviet republic.

Russia denies invasion plans and said it is responding to what it calls aggressive behaviour from the NATO military alliance and Ukraine.

As Ukraine is not a NATO member, it could not count on alliance members to defend it. But U.S. President Joe Biden has repeatedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States and European allies would impose tough sanctions if Russia chose to invade Ukraine. Putin has said new sanctions could lead to a "complete breakdown in ties."

Last month, Russia presented sweeping demands, including a ban on further NATO expansion and an end to the alliance's activity in central and eastern European countries that joined it after 1997.

The United States and NATO say large parts of the Russian proposals are non-starters.

Ryabkov told RIA news agency Russia would not accept U.S. attempts to limit the agenda to discussion of military exercises and missile deployments — the topics outlined by the Biden administration as areas it is willing to broach.