Your Tuesday Briefing: Russia plays down invasion threat

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January 11, 2022

By Melina Delkic

Writer, Briefings

Good morning. We're covering talks about Ukraine and Djokovic's return to Australia.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Geneva.Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Russia says it has no plans to invade Ukraine at talks

After nearly eight hours of negotiation in Geneva, Russian and U.S. officials said they would continue discussions, but they remained far from agreement on meeting each other's security concerns. Here are the latest updates.

Russian officials said they told their American counterparts they had no plans to invade Ukraine. "There is no reason to fear some kind of escalatory scenario," Sergei Ryabkov, a Russian deputy foreign minister, told reporters after the meeting.

Wendy Sherman, the lead American diplomat, said the U.S. was "pushing back on security proposals that are simply non-starters for the United States," including Russia's demands that Ukraine not be admitted into NATO and that NATO pull its troop presence from Ukraine.

Sherman said that the two sides discussed the possibility of reviving the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and that the U.S. made clear that it was open to discussing "ways we can set reciprocal limits on the size and scope of military exercises and to improve transparency about those exercises."

What's next: The talks were the first in a series of discussions that will take place in Geneva, Vienna and Brussels this week. Ukraine will be missing from two of the three sessions; President Volodymyr Zelensky has decided not to rely wholly on U.S.-led negotiations.

Context: A buildup of 100,000 Russian troops near the border with Ukraine has raised concerns among Western and Ukrainian officials that the Kremlin is preparing for an invasion. See how Russia's troops are positioned.

Supporters of Djokovic in Melbourne on Monday.James Ross/EPA, via Shutterstock

Djokovic can stay in Australia for now, judge rules

A judge in Australia ordered the release of the tennis player Novak Djokovic from immigration detention on Monday, the latest turn in a five-day saga over his refusal to be vaccinated for Covid-19.

The ruling still does not guarantee he will be able to play in the Australian Open.

The judge, Anthony Kelly, found that Djokovic had been treated unfairly after his arrival at a Melbourne airport for the Open, where he had been cleared to play with a vaccination exemption., which stemmed from what his lawyers said was an infection he had in mid-December.

After detaining Djokovic, the border authorities promised to let him speak with tournament organizers and his lawyers early Thursday, only to cancel his visa before he was given a chance.

What's next: Restoring the visa does not guarantee that Djokovic will be able to vie for his 10th Open title when the tournament begins next Monday. In court, the government's lawyers warned that the immigration minister could still cancel his visa, which would lead to an automatic three-year ban on his entering the country.

Here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.

In other developments:

Indian officials say more people are refusing to wear masks as case numbers rise.
Breakouts and lockdowns in Chinese cities are making a risk-free Olympics look unlikely.
Uganda reopened its schools for the first time since March 2020.
In the U.S. cities where Omicron first hit, deaths are rising three weeks after cases began to increase. The vast majority of severe cases are in unvaccinated people.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry of Haiti during an interview at his residence last year.Victor Moriyama for The New York Times

Haitian prime minister linked to assassination suspect

After Haiti's president was assassinated and the country slid into turmoil, Ariel Henry became head of the government, responsible for bringing the killers to justice and helping the country heal.

But new evidence suggests that Henry maintained communications with a prime suspect in the case — and that the two men stayed in close contact even after the murder.

The evidence against Henry centers on his connection with Joseph Felix Badio, a former justice ministry official wanted by Haitian authorities on suspicion of organizing the July 7 attack that killed President Jovenel Moïse.

Phone records seen by The Times, as well as interviews with Haitian officials and a principal suspect in the crime, reveal potentially incriminating details. Among them: Badio spoke to Henry before the killing and afterward, including two calls on the morning after the assassination. Badio visited Henry's official residence while he was on the run from law enforcement, and he was not stopped by security guards.

When officials tried to investigate Henry's links to Badio, they were fired by the prime minister.

Response: A spokesperson for Henry said that, despite the phone records, he did not speak to Badio after the assassination and that he has no relationship with the suspect. Badio was unreachable for comment.

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PLAY, WATCH, EAT

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Jeon are savory Korean pancakes: vegetable, meat or seafood bound with the most basic batter. We have variations for you to try.

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Now Time to Play

Here's today's Mini Crossword, and a clue: Weapons at the center of U.S./Iran negotiations (five letters).

And here is today's Spelling Bee.

You can find all our puzzles here.

That's it for today's briefing. See you next time. — Melina

P.S. The word "newsletterer" appeared for the first time in The Times in — where else? — a newsletter.

The latest episode of "The Daily" is about the Golden Globes.

Natasha Frost wrote the Arts and Ideas section. You can reach Melina and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

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