The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Blinken goes to Ukraine as tensions rise
US secretary of state Antony Blinken will meet his Russian counterpart in Switzerland this week as tensions between Washington and Moscow escalate over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, the State Department said.
The State Department said he will travel to Kyiv today to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, move on to Berlin, and then meet Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday.
The hastily arranged trip aims to show US support for Ukraine and impress on Russia the need for de-escalation.
A senior State Department official underscored the urgency, telling reporters: “We are now at a point where Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine at any time.”
The meetings follow inconclusive diplomatic talks between Moscow and the West in Europe last week that failed to resolve stark disagreements over Ukraine and other security matters.
The meetings appear to have increased fears of a Russian invasion, and the Biden administration has accused Russia of preparing a “false flag operation” to use as a pretext for intervention. Russia has denied the charge.
In Berlin, Mr Blinken will meet his German, British and French counterparts to discuss a possible response to any Russian military action.
In Geneva on Friday, he will be testing Mr Lavrov on Russia’s interest in a “diplomatic off-ramp” for the crisis, the senior State Department official said.
Russia has massed 100,000 troops with tanks and other heavy weapons on its own soil near the Ukrainian border in what many observers believe may be preparation for an invasion.
Mr Blinken’s “travel and consultations are part of the diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the tension caused by Russia’s military build-up and continued aggression against Ukraine”, the State Department said.
He will meet Mr Zelenskyy and Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba today “to reinforce the United States’ commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, a statement said.
“The trip follows extensive diplomacy with our European allies and partners about a united approach to address the threat Russia poses to Ukraine and our joint efforts to encourage it to choose diplomacy and deescalation in the interests of security and stability,” it said.
CIA director William Burns visited Kyiv last Wednesday to consult with his Ukrainian counterparts and discuss assessments of the risk to Ukraine, a US official said.
Mr Burns also discussed the situation with Mr Zelenskyy and efforts to de-escalate tensions.