Blinken, Lavrov Speak as Russia-Ukraine Tensions Remain High
- U.S. emphasizes keeping diplomatic channels open amid crisis
- Call sets up secretary of state’s trip to Kyiv to meet leaders
Antony Blinken spoke with Russia’s foreign minister on Tuesday hours before the U.S. secretary of state was to depart for Kyiv amid continuing concern that President Vladimir Putin may still decide to attack Ukraine.
“The secretary stressed the importance of continuing a diplomatic path to de-escalate tensions surrounding the deeply troubling Russian military buildup in and near Ukraine,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. “The secretary reiterated the unshakable U.S. commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The call with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov came ahead of Blinken’s trip to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday. The leaders will reinforce the U.S. “commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Price said earlier on Tuesday.
“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 de-escalation in the interests of security and stability,” Price said.
Russia and the U.S. and its allies held three days of talks last week on Kremlin demands for guarantees that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization won’t expand farther east and will roll back its military presence to positions held in 1997 -- before eastern and central European nations joined the alliance.
Read more: Germany Ready to Hit Nord Stream 2 to Counter Russian Aggression
After departing Kyiv, Blinken will travel Thursday to Berlin, where he plans to meet with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who on Tuesday met with Lavrov.
Baerbock warned Lavrov that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany would be a target for retaliation if Russia uses energy as a weapon.
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