Welcome to Pushback. I'm Aaron Mate.

Joining me is Richard Sokwa, Professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent.

His books include Frontline Ukraine and his latest deception, Russia Gate and the New Cold War.

Professor Sokwa, thank you once again for joining me.

My pleasure.

Where do you assess things to be at right now between the U.S. and Russia?

As we are speaking, Anthony Blinken met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, a few

days ago.

There is talk of more talks.

And for the first time, the U.S. is saying that it will respond in writing to Russia's demands to

address the Ukraine crisis, something that it had delayed or stalled before.

Where do you see things headed now?

And do you think the prospect of a Russian invasion is any greater than it was when we last spoke?

Well, the response by the United States is due just soon after those Blinken-Lerlux talks.

And when it comes in possibly in the next few days, I've heard that there is an

argument that Moscow's, or Washington has asked Moscow not to reveal the contents immediately,

which suggests that there may actually be some movement on the negotiation front, and that the two security treaties which Russia

published in mid-December are going to be responded. So far, in this endless cycle of meetings

of NATO, Russia Council, OSCE and the bilaterals haven't really got anywhere. It's been dealing

with issues at the margins.

And what the whole point of this Russian sabre-rattling at the moment is to try to get the West's

attention above all the United States, which clearly is the leader in all these things,

...