The hope for a diplomatic solution for the ongoing Ukraine situation is not yet extinguished. The United States and Russia are set to hold talks once again at the end of this week amid fears of a Russian attack on Ukraine.
The foreign ministers for each country will meet again in Geneva at the end of the week, a development that the U.S. hopes mean diplomacy is not yet dead for preventing a military escalation in the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
The diplomatic talks on Friday mark the second this month between the two countries on this issue.
The White House has warned that a new Russian attack on Ukraine could happen at any moment. The U.S. secretary of state will fly to Kyiv Wednesday, and the following day will head to Berlin, in order to have meetings with the Ukrainian government and allies in Europe before heading to Geneva for the diplomatic talks with Russia.
Nato has also offered a second round of talks to Russia.
Last week held three sets of diplomatic talks across Europe with Russia, the first with the U.S., the second with Nato, and the third with the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe.
The three talks produced almost no progress. A senior Russian official at the end of the week suggested that the diplomatic path may have reached a dead-end.
In the following days, tensions have risen. Russia has moved troops and heavy weapons towards its western borders, including into Belarus. Russia did not notify Nato about its military exercises in Belarus.
A U.S. official noted that the troops were in “numbers beyond” what was expected if it were some sort of normal military exercise. The official continued that therefore it represents an increased capability for the country to launch its military attack onto Ukraine.
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