The United States hopes that Russia will take a diplomatic approach to resolve the crisis on the border with Ukraine, the US Secretary of State said Jan. 19 at a meeting with American diplomats in Kiev Anthony Blinken.
He stressed that he intends to discuss a peaceful settlement of the situation with the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov meeting on January 21st.
According to Blinken, the build-up of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine means that Moscow can order an invasion at short notice. The Secretary of State expressed his hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin would choose a peaceful path.
“We know that there are plans to further increase these forces in a very short time frame, and this gives President Putin the opportunity, also in a very short time frame, to take further aggressive actions against Ukraine,” he warned.
“I really, really hope we can keep this on the diplomatic and peaceful track, but ultimately it will be President Putin’s decision,” Blinken said after meeting with staff at the US embassy in Kiev.
The Secretary of State also stressed that the US President asked him to come to Kiev to confirm Washington’s commitment to Ukraine. To date, Blinken is scheduled to hold talks with the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmitry Kuleba.
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