Simon Lewis and Mark Trevelyan

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Talks between U.S. diplomats and Russian diplomats start in Geneva Monday. This follows a week-long standoff over Russian troop deployments close to its border with Ukraine. Veteran envoys from each side tried to avoid a crisis.

Wendy Sherman (Deputy Secretary of States), is the number 2. As the U.S. State Department’s No. 2, Wendy Sherman will meet Russian Deputy Minister Sergei Ryabkov. They have combined more than 50 years of diplomatic experience.

Russia, which moved nearly 100,000 troops close to its border with Ukraine, says it is not preparing for an invasion but wants to see the West back off from its support for Ukraine’s government and halt the eastward expansion of the NATO military alliance.

Moscow has rejected some of Washington’s demands, so Russia is unlikely to see rapid progress at the meeting.

Russia sent troops this week in support of anti-government protests to Kazakhstan. This raises concerns for Washington.

The U.S. approach would be “pragmatic, results-oriented,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a press briefing on Wednesday. “We’re not responding to them point by point.”

A phone conversation between Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin and their Presidents last week revealed that both the U.S. as well as European allies will impose new sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine. Putin said that the sanctions could result in “complete breakdown” of relations.

Ryabkov stated to Izvestia this week that Russia was attempting to convince the Izvestia newspaper with a tough approach because of its failures in previous efforts.

    Ryabkov repeated Moscow’s demands for a halt to NATO enlargement, no deployment of its weapons systems in Ukraine and an end to “provocative” military exercises.

    “All these are absolutely necessary integral elements, without which we will be forced to state that the other side is showing a lack of cooperation,” he said.

Others will be playing key roles in the negotiations, which move to Brussels for the NATO-Russia meeting Wednesday and the OSC meeting Thursday.

Sherman and Ryabkov are the leaders of the two delegations. They will be in Geneva for talks on Ukraine at what was originally planned as the Strategic Stability Dialogue. Following a July meeting between Putin and Biden, regular talks were restarted to prevent nuclear confrontation.

Thomas Graham (NYSE) was a former White House senior director for Russia, and said that Sherman and Ryabkov had a lot of experience and would lead the talks professionally. He understood the importance of the job, which is to resolve the crisis.

Graham is now an eminent fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. He stated, “There aren’t going to be raised voices and pounding on it,” A positive outcome for America would be for Russia and the Council on Foreign Relations to reach an agreement to continue talks.

Andrey Kortunov (an analyst heading the Russian International Affairs Council) said that Russia might consider confidence-building and some restraint from the West when it comes to supplying modern weapons to Ukraine to lower tensions.

VETERAN DIPLOMATS

Sherman is 72 and a retired social worker. She has worked in Democratic administrations for many years. Most well-known for her leadership of negotiations to reach a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran, world powers and Russia.

Washington hawks criticized Sherman for being too friendly to Iran, as was the deal. In Iran, anti-American protesters reportedly chanted “Death to Sherman” during the negotiations.

Sherman, in her past role as the Under Secretary of State, traveled to Kyiv to speak about how she held back tears walking along the Maidan. This is the square in central Kyiv where Ukrainians gather to protest against the Russian-backed government.

Sherman said she was approached by “schoolchildren with flowers” rather than the “dangerous elements” Moscow said were behind the protests, and issued a warning to Putin over his annexation of Crimea and the conflict involving Russia-backed separatists in the Donbass region.

Ryabkov is a veteran of 40-years in the Soviet and Russian foreign ministry. He has, over the past weeks, delivered some the most stern rhetoric and the worst warnings regarding the Ukraine crisis.

More than once, he has compared the current situation to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which saw the world close to nuclear war. He also warned Russia that it might have to use intermediate-range nukes in Europe.

    Kortunov, who has known Ryabkov for years, said the diplomat was less hawkish than some members of Russia’s security establishment but would be as flexible or rigid as the Kremlin required.

    “At the end of the day it’s up to Mr Putin to define the red lines, not Ryabkov, and Ryabkov will do his best to articulate the red lines,” said Kortunov.