“I suggest that Ukraine’s status is now more important to Russia than Ukraine itself,” Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told The Wall Street Journal. The December Kremlin demanded a written response to the request, a move the United States had resisted until Friday. “And you know where to go from there.”Mr Viklov said on Friday that the reaction from the United States to Moscow’s request was the same. After many discussions, the interests of Russia and the United States are not overlapping enough to make progress. Following Friday’s meeting, Blinken said he would provide a written response.

Source: Wall Street Journal January 22, 2022 10:42 UTC