U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that the dates have now been set for the three meetings to address the security issues raised insistently since Dec. 15 by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We look forward to engaging with Russia in the Strategic Stability Dialogue on January 10th,” Price stated. “Additionally, we understand Russia and NATO are intending to hold a NATO-Russia Council meeting on the 12th [of January], and that the OSCE is scheduled to meet [with Russia] on the 13th. We will surely put our concerns on the table. I imagine the Russians will do the same. There will be areas where we can make progress, areas I’m sure where we will disagree.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Dec. 28: “Today, we are focusing our efforts on achieving maximum efficiency in asserting this policy line, standing up for our interests and rejecting unilateral concessions that are not rooted in the balance of interests. This is the spirit that guides us when preparing for negotiations, primarily with the United States.” (https://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1792565/)
