Russia ruled out Sunday any concession at talks with the United States on soaring tensions over Ukraine, as Moscow, facing strong pressure to pull back troops, seeks a wide-ranging new security arrangement with the West. Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian news agencies ahead of his talks in Geneva the Kremlin was “disappointed” with signals coming from Washington and from Brussels, where NATO and the European Union are based.The high-level discussions kick off a week of diplomacy in which Russia will meet with NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as the United States tries to assure European allies they will not be sidelined. Since late last year, Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops at the Ukrainian border and demanded guarantees that NATO will not expand further eastward.The Kremlin is insisting NATO must never grant membership to ex-Soviet Ukraine, which is pushing to join. The United States, to be represented by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, agreed to talks even though it made plain that many of Moscow’s proposals are non-starters.Originally scheduled to start on Monday, Sherman is now due to have a working dinner with Ryabkov on Sunday evening, said a State Department spokesperson. Russia’s foreign ministry posted footage of Ryabkov’s plane arriving in Geneva. “We will not agree to any concession. That is completely excluded,” Ryabkov said before departing. “We are disappointed with the signals coming in the last few days from Washington but also from Brussels.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, dismissing Moscow’s demands as “gaslighting”, has insisted that talks will yield no progress so long as Russia has a “gun to Ukraine’s head”.”We’re prepared to respond forcefully to further Russian aggression. But a diplomatic solution is still possible and preferable if Russia chooses it,” Blinken said Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin met his US counterpart Joe Biden in Geneva in June and agreed on regular “stability” talks between Sherman and Ryabkov.