High-stakes diplomacy continued on Friday in a bid to avert a war in Eastern Europe. The urgent efforts come as 100,000 Russian troops are massed near Ukraine's border and the Biden administration worries that Russian President Vladimir Putin will mount some sort of invasion within weeks.Here are things to know about the international tensions surrounding Ukraine.___A diplomatic deadlockRussia바카라 게임 웹사이트�s top diplomat said Friday that Moscow will not start a war but that it also wouldn바카라 게임 웹사이트�t allow the West to trample on its security interests.Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said there is little room for compromise after the West rejected Russia바카라 게임 웹사이트�s key demands that NATO never accept Ukraine as a member and that it roll back deployments in Eastern Europe.Lavrov said that 바카라 게임 웹사이트�while they say they won바카라 게임 웹사이트�t change their positions, we won바카라 게임 웹사이트�t change ours.바카라 게임 웹사이트�He noted, however, that the U.S. 바카라 게임 웹사이트� in a recent written response to Russian demands 바카라 게임 웹사이트� has suggested the two sides could talk about other issues of importance. Those include limits on the deployment of intermediate-range missiles, restrictions on military drills and rules to prevent accidents between warships and aircraft.He emphasized that those issues are secondary to Russia바카라 게임 웹사이트�s main demands.___The French connectionFrench President Emmanuel Macron spoke for over an hour to his Russian counterpart in hopes that diplomacy can avert a war.Macron바카라 게임 웹사이트�s call with Putin had two aims, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said earlier this week: 바카라 게임 웹사이트�to continue dialogue바카라 게임 웹사이트� and to 바카라 게임 웹사이트�push Russia to clarify its position and the aim of (military) maneuvering.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Macron 바카라 게임 웹사이트�is at the heart of efforts towards de-escalation,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Attal added.Macron is also due to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the evening.___Russia suspends military inspectionsGermany expressed regret that Russia has suspended mutual military inspections at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and NATO.The inspections are intended as confidence-building measures among members of the Organizations for Security and Cooperation in Europe.A spokesman for Germany바카라 게임 웹사이트�s Foreign Ministry said Russia recently announced it would suspend the inspections until the end of February, citing the spread of the omicron variant.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Because of this an inspection on Russian territory in the border region of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, which Russia had previously agreed to, won바카라 게임 웹사이트�t currently be possible,바카라 게임 웹사이트� said the spokesman, Christofer Burger.바카라 게임 웹사이트�We expressly regret this step because particularly in the current situation anything which creates greater transparency would help reduce tensions,바카라 게임 웹사이트� he said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�That바카라 게임 웹사이트�s why we are calling on Russia to voluntarily and extensively inform OSCE member states about its activities.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Burger said Russia had also unilaterally canceled inspections it was due to conduct in Germany.___Exposing disinformation, but are there risks? In a break from the past, the U.S. and its allies are increasingly revealing their intelligence findings as they confront Russian preparations for invading Ukraine, looking to undercut Putin바카라 게임 웹사이트�s plans by exposing them and deflecting his efforts to shape world opinion.The White House in recent weeks publicized what it said was a developing Russian 바카라 게임 웹사이트�false-flag바카라 게임 웹사이트� operation to create a pretext for an invasion.Britain named specific Ukrainians it accused of having ties to Russian intelligence officers plotting to overthrow Zelenskyy. The U.S. also released a map of Russian military positions and detailed how officials believe Russia will try to attack Ukraine with as many as 175,000 troops.But the release of information isn바카라 게임 웹사이트�t without risks. Intelligence assessments carry varying degrees of certainty, and beyond offering photos of troop movements, the U.S. and its allies have provided little other proof. Moscow has dismissed Washington바카라 게임 웹사이트�s claims as hysteria and invoked past American intelligence failures, including false information put forward about Iraq바카라 게임 웹사이트�s weapons programs.___What about those German howitzers?German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit says a decision had not yet been reached on whether to approve Estonia바카라 게임 웹사이트�s request to transfer artillery guns to Ukraine.Germany originally owned the howitzers and sold them to Finland which then sold them to Estonia.Hebestreit on Friday warned against pursuing what he called a 바카라 게임 웹사이트�military logic바카라 게임 웹사이트� amid demands for German approval to deliver the howitzers to Ukraine.바카라 게임 웹사이트�When push comes to shove that wouldn바카라 게임 웹사이트�t be a real solution either,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Hebestreit said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�That바카라 게임 웹사이트�s no game-changer now.바카라 게임 웹사이트�___Will Russian gas keep flowing?The German government spokesman says Russia remains a reliable natural gas supplier, but Berlin was preparing for all scenarios.Spokesman Steffen Hebestreit made the remark on Friday amid concerns that Russia might turn off natural gas supplies to Europe.바카라 게임 웹사이트�In our view, the Russian gas supply contracts are being fulfilled everywhere so far and we strongly assume that this will remain the case and Russia will continue to be a reliable contractual partner,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Hebestreit said.바카라 게임 웹사이트�At the same time it바카라 게임 웹사이트�s clear that one needs to prepare for all eventualities, and this is what the German government is doing,바카라 게임 웹사이트� he added, declining to elaborate.___How is the UK bolstering its cyber defenses?The U.K.바카라 게임 웹사이트�s National Cyber Security Centre is urging businesses to strengthen measures to protect computer networks amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.The center said Friday that it is investigating recent reports of 바카라 게임 웹사이트�malicious cyber incidents바카라 게임 웹사이트� in Ukraine and that these attacks are similar to a pattern of Russian behavior seen during earlier conflicts.While authorities aren바카라 게임 웹사이트�t aware of any specific threats against the U.K., the center is encouraging large organizations to bolster online defenses to protect computer networks against potential attacks. The center is part of GCHQ, Britain바카라 게임 웹사이트�s signals intelligence agency.바카라 게임 웹사이트�We are monitoring the situation closely and it is vital that organizations follow the guidance to ensure they are resilient,바카라 게임 웹사이트�바카라 게임 웹사이트� said Paul Chichester, NCSC Director of Operations. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�Over several years, we have observed a pattern of malicious Russian behavior in cyberspace.바카라 게임 웹사이트�___Are tensions hurting foreign investment?The chief executive of Italian bank UniCredit has decided not to pursue a possible takeover bid for Russian bank Otrkitie due to rising tensions over Ukraine.CEO Andrea Orcel said in a media call Friday that UniCredit had started due diligence on an offer, but 바카라 게임 웹사이트�given the geopolitical environment, we decided to withdraw."UniCredit already operates the AO UniCredit Bank in Russia, the 12th largest bank in the country with 70 branches and 400 employees. The plan would have been to merge the two.Orcel said the bank is 바카라 게임 웹사이트�generally happy" and 바카라 게임 웹사이트�committed" to its Russian operations, adding that they represent less than 5% of the bank바카라 게임 웹사이트�s equity activities, so of negligible risk.Orcel was on the list of attendees for a video conference earlier this week of Italian business leaders and Putin. The bank would not confirm if Orcel participated.___Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Frank Jordans in Berlin, Colleen Barry in Milan and Danica Kirka in London contributed.