U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday he strongly hopes efforts to de-escalate tensions along the Russia-Ukraine border can stay on a “diplomatic and peaceful path,” but that ultimately it is up to Russian President Vladimir Putin to decide.
Speaking to U.S. Embassy staff during a visit to Kyiv, Blinken said the world is watching what is happening, and that both what Russia has already done and the threat of further Russian aggression challenges “some very basic principles that undergird the entire international system.”
“We have tried to make clear that there are two paths for Russia,” Blinken said. “There is the path of diplomacy and dialogue to try to resolve whatever differences there are peacefully through diplomacy. Clearly the preferable path, clearly the most responsible path and the one that we would prefer. But there is also the path, if Russia chooses to renew aggression, of confrontation and consequences for Russia.”
While in Kyiv, Blinken is also meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
The buildup of an estimated 100,000 Russian troops along Ukraine’s eastern border has raised concern Moscow is planning military action against its neighbor, which was once part of the Russian-led Soviet Union. Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.
Russia has continued its troop buildup and its harsh rhetoric against Ukraine, moving Russian forces into Belarus over the weekend.
“We are now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack on Ukraine,” a senior State Department official told reporters during a call briefing on Tuesday.
Wednesday’s visit to Ukraine is the first leg of a quickly arranged trip that will take Blinken to Berlin on Thursday to meet with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock “to discuss recent diplomatic engagements with Russia and joint efforts to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the State Department said.
Blinken is then set to urge Russia to “take immediate steps to de-escalate” tensions along the border as he meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday.
Blinken spoke with Lavrov on Tuesday to stress “the importance of continuing a diplomatic path to de-escalate tensions surrounding the deeply troubling Russian military buildup in and near Ukraine,” the State Department said in a statement about the conversation.
“The secretary reiterated the unshakable U.S. commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and underscored that any discussion of European security must include NATO Allies and European partners, including Ukraine,” the statement added.
Blinken’s trip follows talks in Geneva last week between Russian and U.S. officials aimed at settling differences over Ukraine and other security issues. No progress was reported.
Russia has demanded guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO.
Last week, the Biden administration accused Moscow of preparing a “false flag operation” for use as a ploy for intervention in Ukraine, a charge Russia has angrily denied.
A U.S. delegation visited Kyiv on Monday to show support for Ukraine amid the standoff with Russia.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, told VOA’s Ukrainian Service, “We have Democrats and Republicans of very different political views here to say we stand with Ukraine. And if Vladimir Putin chooses to take this treacherous anti-democratic path of invading this country, there will be severe and swift sanctions.”
U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer, a Republican, told VOA, “The United States won’t just sit idly by and be a bystander if something happens. What we would like to do is prevent it from happening. We want to be a deterrent. We want to be part of the solution before fighting commences.”
Chris Hannas and VOA’s Ukrainian Service contributed to this report. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press.
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