US Calls for Peace and De-escalation in Ukraine Crisis
The US Secretary of State will meet with his Russian counterpart after meeting with Ukrainian and European officials. He has stated that his country seeks a diplomatic solution to the dispute between Russia and Ukraine.
Reuters news agency has reported an increase in diplomatic efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis.
According to the agency, Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, will meet and hold talks with Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister in Geneva on Friday, January 21. He has already indicated, with reference to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, that the US seeks de-escalation and peace.
Blinken will speak with Vladimir Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, and Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian Foreign Minister on Wednesday, January 19, and then will travel to Berlin where he will meet with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock.
Blinken’s trip takes place amid concerns about the possibility of a Russian attack on Ukraine. Russia has deployed tens of thousands of troops on its border with Ukraine, but denies any plans for a military operation against Ukraine.
A senior US State Department official also emphasized on the previous day (Tuesday, January 18) that “the United States does not want confrontation.”
The official told reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin has the ability to take steps to reduce tensions in the Ukraine crisis “so that the United States and Russia can pursue relations that are not based on hostility or crisis.”
In a statement issued by the US State Department in this regard, it stated that negotiations would focus in part on “the readiness of allies to impose enormous consequences and severe economic costs on Russia.”
Lavrov has also said that Moscow will welcome diplomatic efforts by the United States. However, Washington says that despite recent diplomatic engagement by the US, it has not yet seen actions indicating Russia’s willingness to de-escalate, and Moscow may attack Ukraine in January or February.
Source: DW
