Russia and the United States held security talks in Geneva. Here's what the heads of delegations said after the meeting

(Spoiler: nothing agreed, but communication will continue)

Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Ryabkov . The negotiations were complex, deep and specific. NATO should refuse to develop the territory of the countries that joined the alliance after 1997. Russia has no intentions to attack Ukraine and cannot have any. We need reinforced concrete guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia will never join NATO. We call on the United States to be as responsible as possible. There is no need to intimidate Russia, this will not give a result. The situation around the talks is not hopeless. We will hold talks with NATO and the OSCE in Brussels, after which concrete decisions can be made.

Deputy State Department Secretary Wendy Sherman . Progress in negotiations with Russia is possible. A nuclear war cannot be won, we agree that it should not be unleashed. The US will not let anyone decide whether a country should join NATO or not. The issue of accepting Ukraine into the alliance without the participation of Kyiv will not be discussed. If Russia invades Ukraine, it will face sanctions against key financial institutions. The United States and Russia are not yet ready to discuss specific agreements, while we are simply trying to understand each other.

This is an approximate retelling of the statements of Ryabkov and Sherman, based on materials from TASS and RIA Novosti . Quotes are not necessarily verbatim.

Cover photo: Denis Balibouse / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA