Atlanta, USA (CNN) - The US State Department announced on Friday that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has agreed to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, late next week, "on condition that Russia does not invade Ukraine." US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Blinken, in his remarks at the Security Council, Thursday, indicated that he believed that "the only responsible way to resolve the Ukrainian crisis is diplomacy and dialogue, and suggested that Lavrov meet in Europe next week." "The Russians responded with proposed dates late next week, which we accept on the condition that there is no Russian invasion of Ukraine," Blinken added. “If the Russians invade in the coming days, it will make clear that they have never been serious about diplomacy,” Price said. “We will continue to coordinate with our allies and partners and push for more engagement with Russia through the NATO-Russia Council and the Organization fo...
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Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN)-- Two US officials and another source familiar with US intelligence told CNN that the United States has intelligence indicating that orders have been sent to Russian leaders to launch an attack on Ukraine. Intelligence on tactical commanders and intelligence agents is one of several indicators the United States is monitoring to assess whether Russian preparations are in the final stages of a possible invasion. Some sources indicate that other indicators, such as electronic jamming and large-scale cyber attacks, have not yet been monitored. The sources warned that the orders could always be withdrawn or it could be false information intended to confuse and mislead the United States and its allies. But the news of the intelligence comes after President Biden said Friday that he believed Putin "made the decision" to invade, a comment echoed by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who said in an interview with C...
Elysee: Macron and Putin agree on tripartite talks "in the coming hours" for a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine
London, United Kingdom (CNN) - French President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed, Sunday, to "work intensively to enable the meeting of the tripartite contact group scheduled for the next few hours," the Elysee Palace said in a reading of the call between them Sunday. The Elysee Palace said that the aim of the meeting would be "to obtain a commitment from all parties to a ceasefire on the line of contact." The Tripartite Contact Group brings together representatives from Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. According to the statement, the two leaders agreed on the need to "give priority to a diplomatic solution to the current crisis and to do everything possible to achieve this." The French presidency said that "intensive diplomatic work" would be carried out "in the coming days and weeks", with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his Rus...
US Defense Secretary: Russia appears to have made the decision and is moving to a position to launch an attack
New York, USA (CNN) - US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that Russia appears to have made the decision and is moving to sites from which it could launch an attack on Ukraine. Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Austin told a press conference from Lithuania: "If you look at the position he is adopting today, it is clear that he made a decision and they are moving to the right positions to launch an attack." On reaching a diplomatic solution, Austin said: "I think we should try until the last minute so that it is not possible." It is noteworthy that Russian President Vladimir Putin began on Saturday military exercises with ballistic missiles, according to the RIA Novosti news agency, in a new escalating step in the crisis with Ukraine and the West. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying that Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko were observing the missile military exercises from the Kremlin...
Atlanta, USA (CNN) - The US State Department announced on Friday that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has agreed to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, late next week, "on condition that Russia does not invade Ukraine." US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Blinken, in his remarks at the Security Council, Thursday, indicated that he believed that "the only responsible way to resolve the Ukrainian crisis is diplomacy and dialogue, and suggested that Lavrov meet in Europe next week." "The Russians responded with proposed dates late next week, which we accept on the condition that there is no Russian invasion of Ukraine," Blinken added. “If the Russians invade in the coming days, it will make clear that they have never been serious about diplomacy,” Price said. “We will continue to coordinate with our allies and partners and push for more engagement with Russia through the NATO-Russia Council and the Organization for Security ...