US calls for peace and de-escalation in Ukraine crisis
The US Secretary of State will meet with his Russian counterpart after meetings with Ukrainian and European officials. He has said that his country wants a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Reuters has reported increased diplomatic efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis.
According to the news agency, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet and hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Friday, January 21. Referring to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, he has previously stated that the US wants de-escalation and peace.
Blinken will hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kulba on Wednesday, January 19, before heading to Berlin to meet with his German counterpart, Annalena Berbock.
Blinken's trip comes amid concerns about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia has deployed tens of thousands of troops on its border with Ukraine but denies any plans for a military invasion.
A senior US State Department official also emphasized yesterday (Tuesday, January 18) that “the United States does not seek conflict.”
The official told reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin has the authority to take steps to de-escalate the Ukraine crisis “so that the United States and Russia can pursue a relationship that is not based on hostility or crisis.”
A statement issued by the US State Department on the matter said that the talks will focus in part on the allies' readiness to impose "massive consequences and severe economic costs on Russia."
Lavrov has also said that Moscow would welcome US diplomatic efforts, but Washington says that despite recent US diplomatic engagements, the country has yet to see any signs of Russia's willingness to de-escalate, and Moscow could invade Ukraine in January or February.
Source: DW
