common ground they might find between the two, but the key thing that some people hope shows positivity is these talks talks are is yet has walked away from the table 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landale, is in geneva. neither side as yet has walked away from the table. from the table. thank is no great breakthrough. from the table. thank is no great breakthrough, these from the table. thank is no great breakthrough, these talks - from the table. thank is no great breakthrough, these talks are . from the table. thank is no great breakthrough, these talks are is| from the table. thank is no great. breakthrough, these talks are is in geneva. ., «a breakthrough, these talks are is in geneva. . , ., , ., , geneva. the talks start shortly, the expectation geneva. the talks start shortly, the expectation is geneva. the talks start shortly, the expectation is no geneva. the talks start shortly, the expectation is no great expectation is no great breakthrough, these talks
actually on paper in response to russia pots demands that nato steps back from its positions in eastern europe, rules out membership ever ukraine and things like that, all of which the us have said are nonstarters, but at least that process has now been engaged a formal process and i think the americans are happy simply because the talks continue, they are able to look at the russians across the table and say look, as you heard in the reports, if there is any military action across ukraine s borders there will be swift and severe responses and the hope is the longer the russians keep talking, they don t get that process could potentially endure and if it does, it might have a role in delaying some kind of military action in the future. the longer that process could enjoy. so as we expected. and let s cross to moscow now where our correspondent carrie davies is.
kind of greater russia, carving up territory based on ethnicity and language. they claim they want stability while they work to threaten and destabilise others. we know what lies down that path and the terrible to in lives lost and human suffering it brings. that is why we urge president putin to desist and step back from ukraine before he makes a massive strategic mistake. we need everyone to step up, together with our allies we will continue to stand with ukraine and urged russia to de escalate. what happens in eastern europe matters for the world. threats to freedom, democracy and the rule of law are notjust regional, they are global, thatis notjust regional, they are global, that is why we have to respond together. and let s cross to moscow now where our correspondent where
of 2023 to complete. all of this has a knock on effect. experienced staff have been moved away from day to day duties to fix these issues, and that is already causing a backlog in processing new applications. sarah corker, bbc news. from today, some covid restrictions are easing in wales and northern ireland. in wales, restrictions on outdoor sporting events and outdoor hospitality have lifted. and in northern ireland, the rule of six has been dropped at hospitality venues. we ll hear the latest from our ireland correspondent emma vardy in a moment, but first our wales correspondent tomos morgan spoke to us from cardiff. the big one i think is now that spectators can grow to stadiums now. a big one here, the six nations in the principalityjust a a few weeks away, a huge boost economically, not just that he was rugby union but for south wales as a whole that people can go and watch this game again.
joining me now from moscow is our correspondent carrie davies. we are getting mixed signals, we are expecting to hear from the nato secretary general in a press conference soon. what is the latest you are hearing from moscow about any plans to pull back? in you are hearing from moscow about any plans to pull back? any plans to pull back? in terms of what we have any plans to pull back? in terms of what we have heard any plans to pull back? in terms of what we have heard from - any plans to pull back? in terms of what we have heard from the i any plans to pull back? in terms of i what we have heard from the kremlin this morning, we have heard again these military drills that are currently going on in belarus that when you would be finishing on the 20th of february, that is what russia said before, and we had another confirmation from the kremlin that when those deals are over, they say troops will be going back to their bases. we heard a lot about this phrase withdrawal, we need to