Ukraine

An invasion could start with aerial bombing that would make departures difficult and endanger civilians, the BBC quoted the White House as saying on Friday. Moscow has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine despite massing more than 100,000 troops near the border.

The mention of Russian "aggression" in Price's statement assumes an ominous tone because Blinken said the same day that a Russian invasion "could begin at any time", even during the Beijing Winter Olympics now underway brushing aside speculation that Moscow would not launch an attack during the games. The Jaishankar-Blinken meeting took place as the White House unveiled its Indo-Pacific strategy that laid down "support India's continued rise and regional leadership" as one of its objectives.

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), on Thursday met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Brussels over Russia-Ukraine tensions, Xinhua news agency reported. Stoltenberg said in a press release that 'this is a dangerous moment for European security,' underlining that while NATO is prepared for the worst, it is still committed to finding a political solution.

Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's Permanent Representative to the European Union, told the BBC that Russia still believes "diplomacy can help" ease the Ukraine tensions, reiterating that Moscow has no intention of invading any country, while warning that it is important not to provoke Russia into changing its mind.

Speaking in Brussels, Johnson said he hoped "strong deterrence" and "patient diplomacy" could find a way through the crisis but the stakes were "very high", the BBC reported.

“China seeks peace, development, and cooperation. We advance the building of an Asia-Pacific security system that is open, inclusive, and not targeting any third country… We hope that the US and relevant countries can get a clear picture of the situation, feel relaxed, abandon the Cold War mentality," said Zhao Lijian, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.

At the talks on Tuesday, the Ukrainian President voiced the hope that the next meeting of leaders of the Normandy Four, which includes Ukraine, France, Germany and Russia, may take place "in the near future". "An important step in this direction is the intensification of dialogue at the level of political advisers. We hope that the meeting in Paris, which took place on January 26, 2022, and the upcoming talks in Berlin will bring us closer to holding the Normandy Summit".

The phone talk comes amid NATO member Turkey's mediation efforts to defuse tensions between Ukraine and Russia. Turkey acts in a "logic of calming the tensions," Erdogan told the NATO Chief on Monday, according to a presidential statement. Stoltenberg tweeted that he exchanged views with Erdogan on "Russia's buildup in and around Ukraine.

Speaking at a meeting after their talks, Kuleba on Monday said currently, diplomats are preparing for talks of the advisors of the Normandy format, a four-party diplomatic group consisting of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, in Berlin. "The preparations for the meeting in Berlin are not easy. But we are working to ensure that, at least after the meeting in Berlin, negotiations at the level of Normandy format advisers continue," the Ukrainian Foreign Minister told reporters.

The meeting was businesslike and useful, Putin on Monday said at a joint press conference with Macron following their hours-long talks in the Kremlin, Xinhua news agency reported. Russia's core concerns on security were ignored by the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), while the military alliance attempts to lecture Russia on where and how to place its armed forces, the Russian President added.