U.S.-Russia talks notch minor progress on arms control but remain stuck on NATO expansion

Top diplomats from the United States and Russia each said Monday that bilateral, "business-like" talks in Geneva offered some openings for future engagement on missile systems and military exercises. But the two sides remained at an impasse on the future of NATO membership, which the Russians called a "top priority."  

Speaking from Geneva, where the two delegations met to kick off a week of intensive diplomacy, deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said the U.S. had offered to meet again "soon" to discuss missile placement and a possible revival of the now-defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. She also said the U.S. had signaled its openness to setting "reciprocal limits on the size and scope of military exercises, and to improve transparency about those exercises." 

Two officials from the Department of Defense, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia Laura K. Cooper and Lieutenant General James J. Mingus, are accompanying Sherman during her meetings. Speaking from the Pentagon on Monday, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said the Department of Defense is aware of and supports discussing missile capabilities in Europe assuming that there would be reciprocity from Russia in negotiations on that point. The U.S. does not have intermediate-range missiles in Europe and has no plans to put them there, so there would likely need to be more concessions from Russia regarding missiles.