US, Russia agree to soothe Ukraine tensions, more talks next week

Washington and Moscow's top diplomats have agreed at high-stakes talks to keep working to ease tensions over Ukraine, with the United States promising a written response to Russian security demands next week.

As fears grow that Russia could invade its pro-Western neighbour, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sat down for 90 minutes of hastily arranged talks in Geneva on Friday.

Blinken described the high-stakes talks as "frank" and not "polemical", with Lavrov also voicing hope for a lowering of the temperature between the former Cold War foes.

Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops on the Ukrainian border, denying it plans to invade but demanding security guarantees, including a permanent ban on the country joining NATO.

READ MORE: Top US, Russia diplomats hold last-ditch talks amid Ukraine war fears

Diplomatic route

Blinken said after the talks that Washington will share written ideas with Russia next week, voicing hope for more diplomacy.

"We didn't expect any major breakthroughs to happen today, but I believe we are now on a clear path in terms of understanding each other's concerns and each other's positions," Blinken told reporters.

"We ended up with an agreement that we will receive written responses to all our proposals next week," Lavrov said in a separate press conference.

He added that another meeting could be held between the two, but that it was "premature" to start talking about a summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin.

Biden bluntly assessed on Wednesday that Putin is likely to "move in" on Ukraine and warned of a "disaster for Russia".

The United States and its allies have warned of severe economic sanctions in response to an invasion.

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