US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday landed in Kiev for talks with Ukraine’s leaders as diplomatic efforts to dissuade Russia from attacking the nation falter.
After talks last week failed to ease fears, the White House on Tuesday warned that Russia was ready to attack Ukraine at “any point.”
It was a marked intensification of its threat assessment ahead of a meeting between Blinken and Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov expected in Geneva, Switzerland, tomorrow.
Photo: Reuters
Hoping to show robust support ahead of the talks, the top US diplomat was making a one-day visit to Kiev in a show of support for Ukraine.
He was greeted by Ukrainian officials on an icy, moonlit tarmac and was to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Blinken today is to travel to Berlin for four-way talks with Britain, France and Germany to seek Western unity.
“We’re now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack on Ukraine,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.
“No option is off the table,” Psaki said, warning of an “extremely dangerous situation.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin “has created this crisis,” she said.
Moscow has denied numerous times that an invasion is planned.
In a call between the US and top Russian diplomats ahead of Blinken’s trip, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Lavrov had called on Blinken “not to replicate speculation about the allegedly impending ‘Russian aggression.’”
US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said that Blinken “stressed the importance of continuing a diplomatic path to de-escalate tensions.”
A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Blinken’s goal was to see “if there is a diplomatic off-ramp” and “common ground” where Russia can be persuaded to pull back from Ukraine after Moscow has massed troops on Ukraine’s borders.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from