US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that the United States is committed to a “swift and tough response” if Russia decides to invade Ukraine.
He made the remarks at the start of a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva. The two top diplomats said that today’s meeting is just a step towards resolving the situation around Ukraine.
With 100,000 Russian troops gathered near the border with Ukraine, many fear that Moscow is preparing for an invasion and the US and its allies are striving for a united front in the hope of preventing it or coordinating a response, if not achieve such a thing.
“We do not expect to settle our disputes here today. “I hope and expect that we can test whether the path of diplomacy or dialogue remains open,” Secretary Blinken told Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. “This is a critical moment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister Lavrov said that he “does not expect any progress in these negotiations either. “What we expect are concrete answers to our concrete proposals.” Moscow has demanded concessions from NATO over the Western alliance’s relations with Ukraine, a former Soviet republic.
Washington and its allies have repeatedly warned of “serious” consequences, such as severe economic sanctions, though not military action against Russia, if an invasion occurs.
Secretary Blinken reiterated that warning Friday. He said the United States and its allies are committed to diplomacy, but they are also committed, “if that becomes impossible and Russia decides to attack Ukraine, for a united, swift and tough response.”
But he said he also wanted to take the opportunity to discuss directly with Foreign Minister Lavrov some “concrete ideas to address some of the concerns you have raised, as well as the deep concerns many of us have about Russia’s actions.”