US, Russia meet for talks in Geneva amid tensions

Senior U.S. and Russian officials met for talks in Geneva on Monday as part of a flurry of diplomatic activity in Europe this week aimed at defusing tensions over a Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov insisted Russia had no intention to invade Ukraine while his counterpart, Wendy Sherman told that the U.S. would impose "enormous costs," on Russia if it did so. Moscow has sought to wrest a string of concessions from the U.S. and its Western allies, including guarantees that NATO will no longer expand eastward into former Soviet states like Ukraine.  Talks between Russia and NATO are planned Wednesday in Brussels followed by a meeting in Vienna of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Thursday.