US and Russia try to lower temperature in Ukraine crisis
The United States and Russia sought to lower the temperature Friday in a heated standoff over Ukraine, even as they said no breakthrough was imminent in the crisis that has raised fears of a possible Russian invasion.
Armed with seemingly intractable and diametrically opposed demands, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Geneva at what the American said was a 바카라 게임 웹사이트critical moment.바카라 게임 웹사이트
With an estimated 100,000 Russian troops massed near Ukraine, many fear Moscow is preparing an invasion although Russia denies that. The U.S. and its allies are scrambling to present a united front to prevent that or coordinate a tough response if they can바카라 게임 웹사이트t.
바카라 게임 웹사이트We didn바카라 게임 웹사이트t expect any major breakthroughs to happen today, but I believe we are now on a clearer path to understanding each other바카라 게임 웹사이트s positions,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Blinken told reporters after the meeting.
Blinken said Lavrov repeated Russia's insistence that it has no plans to invade Ukraine but stressed that the U.S. and its allies were not convinced of that.
바카라 게임 웹사이트We바카라 게임 웹사이트re looking at what is visible to all, and it is deeds and actions and not words that make all the difference,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said.
Lavrov, meanwhile, called the talks 바카라 게임 웹사이트constructive and useful바카라 게임 웹사이트 and said that the U.S. agreed to provide written responses to Russian demands on Ukraine and NATO next week. That could at least delay any imminent aggression for a few days.
But Lavrov declined to characterize that pledge.
바카라 게임 웹사이트I can바카라 게임 웹사이트t say whether we are on the right track or not," he told reporters. "We will understand that when we receive the U.S. written response to all of our proposals.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Moscow has demanded that the NATO alliance promise that Ukraine 바카라 게임 웹사이트 a former Soviet republic 바카라 게임 웹사이트 will never be allowed to join. It also wants the allies to remove troops and military equipment from parts of eastern Europe.
The U.S. and its NATO allies have flatly rejected those demands and say that Russian President Vladimir Putin knows they are nonstarters. They have said they're open to less dramatic moves.
Blinken said the U.S. would be open to a meeting between Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden, if it would be 바카라 게임 웹사이트useful and productive.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Washington and its allies have repeatedly promised 바카라 게임 웹사이트severe바카라 게임 웹사이트 consequences such as biting economic sanctions 바카라 게임 웹사이트 though not military action 바카라 게임 웹사이트 against Russia if an invasion goes ahead.
Blinken repeated that warning Friday before the talks. He said the U.S. and its allies were committed to diplomacy, but also committed "if that proves impossible, and Russia decides to pursue aggression against Ukraine, to a united, swift and severe response."
But he said he also wanted to use the opportunity to share directly with Lavrov some 바카라 게임 웹사이트concrete ideas to address some of the concerns that you have raised, as well as the deep concerns that many of us have about Russia바카라 게임 웹사이트s actions.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Ukraine is already beset by conflict. Russia's Putin seized control of Ukraine바카라 게임 웹사이트s Crimea Peninsula in 2014 and backed a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, part of a simmering but largely stalemated conflict with Ukrainian forces that has taken more than 14,000 lives. Putin faced limited international consequences for those moves, but the West says a new invasion would be different.
Ahead of his meeting with Lavrov, Blinken met Ukraine바카라 게임 웹사이트s president in Kyiv and top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany in Berlin this week.
Adding to its repeated verbal warnings to Russia, the United States stepped up sanctions on Thursday. The U.S. Treasury Department slapped new measures on four Ukrainian officials. Blinken said the four were at the center of a Kremlin effort begun in 2020 to damage Ukraine바카라 게임 웹사이트s ability to 바카라 게임 웹사이트independently function.바카라 게임 웹사이트
The Russian Foreign Ministry reaffirmed its demands Friday that NATO not expand into Ukraine, that no alliance weapons be deployed near Russian borders and that alliance forces pull back from Central and Eastern Europe.
The State Department, meanwhile, put out three statements 바카라 게임 웹사이트 two on Russian 바카라 게임 웹사이트disinformation,바카라 게임 웹사이트 including specifically on Ukraine, and another entitled 바카라 게임 웹사이트Taking Action to Expose and Disrupt Russia바카라 게임 웹사이트s Destabilization Campaign in Ukraine.바카라 게임 웹사이트 The documents accused Russia and Putin of trying to reconstitute the former Soviet Union through intimidation and force.
The Russian Foreign Ministry mocked those statements, saying they must have been prepared by an Orwellian 바카라 게임 웹사이트Ministry of Truth,바카라 게임 웹사이트 and Lavrov caustically dismissed them.
바카라 게임 웹사이트I do hope that not everyone in the State Department was working on those materials and there were some who were working on the essence of our proposals and their substance," he said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also rejected Western claims that Moscow was trying to rebuild the Soviet empire and carve out its zone of influence in eastern Europe, charging that it바카라 게임 웹사이트s the West that thinks in categories of zones of influence.
Blinken has taken pains to stress U.S. unity with its allies in opposition to a possible Russian invasion, something that took an apparent hit earlier this week when Biden drew widespread criticism for saying retaliation for Russian aggression in Ukraine would depend on the details and that a 바카라 게임 웹사이트minor incursion바카라 게임 웹사이트 could prompt discord among Western allies.
On Thursday, Biden sought to clarify his comments by cautioning that any Russian troop movements across Ukraine바카라 게임 웹사이트s border would constitute an invasion and that Moscow would 바카라 게임 웹사이트pay a heavy price바카라 게임 웹사이트 for such an action.
바카라 게임 웹사이트I바카라 게임 웹사이트ve been absolutely clear with President Putin,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Biden said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트He has no misunderstanding: Any, any assembled Russian units move across the Ukrainian border, that is an invasion.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Russia has denied it is planning an invasion and instead accused the West on Thursday of plotting 바카라 게임 웹사이트provocations바카라 게임 웹사이트 in Ukraine, citing the delivery of weapons to the country by British military transport planes in recent days.
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Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed.