Neither side is optimistic ahead of U.S.-Russia talks over Ukraine

A Ukrainian soldier walks in a trench at the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. President Joe Biden has warned Russia's Vladimir Putin that the U.S. could impose new sanctions against Russia if it takes further military action against Ukraine. (AP Photo/Andriy Dubchak)

As 100,000 Russian troops surround Ukraine on three sides, raising the specter of a Russian invasion, officials on both sides were pessimistic Sunday about the possibility that upcoming U.S.-Russia talks in Geneva would lead to any real breakthroughs.

On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands that the U.S. pull troops out of Eastern Europe, or rule out expanding NATO to include Ukraine.

“Neither of those is on the table,” Blinken told CNN’s State of the Union.