The United States and Russia agreed to continue talks over the ongoing Ukraine crisis Friday — even though no major deal was made between the two superpowers.
The news: U.S. and Russian diplomats agreed to keep talking about the Ukraine crisis, which has raised fears of a potential military conflict and an invasion of Ukraine.
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Russia that any invasion into Ukraine would be “met with a severe and a united response.”
- Per CNN, Blinken said his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov offered a “clearer path of understanding each others’ concerns.”
- “We didn’t expect any major breakthroughs to happen today, but I believe we are on a clearer path in terms of understanding each other’s concerns, each others’ positions,” Blinken said during a press conference after meeting with Lavrov. “Let’s see what the next days bring.”
State of play: Ukraine, the United States and other Western countries are worried about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- Russia reportedly has stationed 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders.
- Moscow has organized military drills in Belarus.
- The Biden administration recently committed $200 million in defense military aid to Ukraine.
- President Joe Biden said any move by Russia would lead to consequences for Russia.
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Next up: Blinken told Lavrov that the U.S. would provide written responses to Russia’s proposals and demands that Ukraine can’t join the NATO alliance and that NATO allies remove troops from eastern Europe, according to ABC News.