US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted on Thursday that he would “ensure that we are speaking and acting together with one voice when it comes to Russia” in a Friday meeting with his Russian opposite number.
Moscow has stationed about 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine, something the West has interpreted as preparation for invasion.
Germany and US stress diplomatic path
Blinken was speaking after talks with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Berlin. He said hundreds of meetings had been held in light of the crisis on Ukraine’s border to ensure NATO allies could speak with unity.
“That unity gives us strength, a strength which I must add, that Russia cannot match,” Blinken said. “It’s why we build voluntary alliances in the first place. It’s also why Russia recklessly seeks to divide us.”
Blinken also said talks between NATO allies and Russia had yielded things for both sides to consider.
But he added: “Even as we are relentless in pursuing this diplomatic path, we will continue to make very clear that if Moscow chooses the path of further aggression, we will impose swift and massive costs.”
Foreign Minister Baerbock reaffirmed the West’s commitment to finding a political solution.
“We are agreed that the only way out of the crisis is a political one, and the only path to this is through dialogue,” said Baerbock.
“Unfortunately, through its behavior, Russia continues to speak a different language,” she said. “We urgently demand that Russia takes steps towards de-escalation. Any further aggressive behavior or aggression would result in serious consequences,” Baerbock told the joint news conference.
“This is nothing less than a question of maintaining peace in Europe. For us, it is existential.”
What is Washington hoping to do?
Western and Russian officials have already met for talks on the Ukraine tensions in Geneva, Brussels, and Vienna, but these failed to yield a breakthrough.
NATO allies say they want to keep talking, but Moscow first wants a written response on its proposals for security guarantees. Russia is keen to force NATO to make concessions that include the pledge not to accept Ukraine into the US-dominated alliance.
Blinken, who is set to meet Lavrov in Geneva on Friday, has said he will not present such a formal response at those talks.
Rather, he will seek to put the onus back onto Moscow to allay fears that it is planning to invade.
The US diplomat began his whirlwind tour on Wednesday in Kyiv, where he urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to stay on a “diplomatic and peaceful path.”
What’s Russia been saying?
The Kremlin on Thursday said that US warnings of possible disastrous consequences for Russia were not helpful and could destabilize the situation further.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented after US President Joe Biden predicted on Wednesday that Russia would make a move and said Moscow would pay dearly if there was a full-scale invasion.
Amid the flurry of diplomacy, Russian leaders have dismissed NATO allies’ pledge of a united stand against Russia. Lavrov has insisted that, in reality, it’s the US calling the shots.
Where do NATO allies stand?
Washington and its allies have said they will keep the door open to possible further talks on arms control and confidence-building measures with Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called on the European Union to draw up a plan for a pact to ease tensions with Russia.
“We should build it among Europeans, then share it with our allies in the framework of NATO, and then propose it for negotiation to Russia,” he said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said Russia faces severe political and economic consequences if there is an invasion. He used a speech to the World Economic Forum on Wednesday to urge Russia to put cooperation over confrontation.
What is Germany doing to support Ukraine?
Germany has said it keeps all options on the table in terms of possible sanctions against Russia, including blocking the massive Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is due to double supplies of cheap natural gas from Russia to Germany.
However, there appears to be a greater willingness to slap the toughest sanctions on Russia from the US and eastern NATO members.
When it comes to weapons, the US, Turkey, and the UK have agreed to supply anti-tank missiles, armed drones, naval warships, and other weapons aimed at shoring up Ukraine’s defenses. Denmark and countries in Eastern Europe are also understood to have sent arms.
Kyiv has also repeatedly pleaded with Germany to send weapons, but the call has so far been rebuffed. In her first visit to Ukraine on Monday, Foreign Minister Baerbock said Berlin would “do its all to guarantee Ukraine’s security.” However, she rejected the call for weapon shipments.
Moscow-backed forces have been fighting Ukrainian troops in two breakaway regions in the east of the country since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. More than 13,000 people have been killed.
rc/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters, AP)
Blinken says NATO speaks with unity on Ukraine-Russia tensions
Source: Pinoy Pop News
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