US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was due in Geneva today (Friday) with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for another round of talks on the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, and the danger of a Russian invasion of its neighbor to the west.
Lavrov said at the end of the round of talks that the discussions were "helpful and constructive" and clarified that Russia does not intend to attack Ukraine.
He announced that the United States had agreed to respond in writing to Russia's demands, including the withdrawal of NATO forces from several Eastern European countries and the blocking of Ukraine's entry into the alliance. Lavrov claimed that the United States would submit its response to the Kremlin next week.
"I can not say if we are on the right track, we must wait for the response of the United States in order to understand this," Minister Lavrov added.
If Lavrov's statements are accurate, the decision to respond in writing to Moscow's far-reaching demands, something the Biden administration has so far refused to do, could delay Russian action in eastern Ukraine for several days.
As the talks opened, both sides expressed pessimism about the possibility of a breakthrough.
Spirits of war
The winds of war in Eastern Europe intensified significantly today (Friday) when Russia's envoy for talks with NATO members, Konstantin Gavrilov, threatened that the time for a diplomatic solution to the crisis between Russia and Ukraine was running out and hinted that his country would prepare for military action.
"The moment of truth is approaching when the West will have to accept our proposals, or we will have to find other ways to obtain the guarantees needed for our security. We believe that a way can be found to reach mutually agreed solutions, but time is running out. The countdown has begun," the Russian envoy said. .
Spirits of war.
Ukrainian military forces Photo: Reuters,
At the same time, US President Joe Biden answered questions from White House reporters during the night, warning of Russian military action in Ukrainian territory: "I believe Putin will act in Ukraine. He will go in there. He must do something. But he did not see anything. "Like the economic sanctions we are planning in the event of an invasion."
"It's one thing if it's a small and negligible military operation, or we have to find ourselves thinking what we should or should not do," the president added, in an attempt to draw a clear line to the US response to Russian action in its neighbor to the west.
In Kiev it was estimated on Tuesday that Russia has 127,000 troops on its western border and that a Russian attack is a real possibility.
At the same time, White House spokeswoman Jen Saki also referred to the tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border and said that if Moscow acted it would meet with a "quick, powerful and united" response from the US and its allies.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also referred to the possibility of a Russian invasion, saying: "I believe that Russia will be able to act with surprising speed. The Russians will be able to double their forces at the border at an unprecedented speed."
A convoy of Russian armored vehicles near the Ukrainian border, Photo: AP
In addition to the threats, the United States sent a message to Russia and imposed economic sanctions on four Ukrainian personalities who, according to the US State Department, took part in Moscow's effort to disseminate misinformation in the country's media.
"We are not waiting to respond to Russia's actions but are taking the necessary steps to prevent them. The sanctions emphasize the fact that we are on the side of the Ukrainian government, and are working to prevent Russian actions designed to destabilize the country," a senior US administration official told Reuters.
The President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zlansky, delivered a broadcast speech to the nation yesterday in which he sought to calm the spirits and claimed that there is no change in tensions with Russia and called on the public not to listen to panic spreaders.
Yesterday, the Russian president spoke with his Polish counterpart, Andrei Duda, and the two talked about the need to tighten security cooperation in the face of Moscow's threats.
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