Blinken to speak with Russia on Ukraine crisis

Nadi, Fiji: The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that he would talk with his Russian counterpart in a final effort to evade off possible Russian aggression into Ukraine, Agence France-Presse reported.

Blinken said that the US continues to see problematic signs of Russian escalation, precisely troops camping near Ukraine borders.

If Russia has a genuine intention to resolve the crisis, the US is ready for diplomacy and dialogue, he said. But the resolve should be on de-escalation of its troops since the US had seen only escalation from Moscow till now. It is a pivotal moment now, and they are prepared for anything that should happen, Blinken said.

He underscored that Washington and its allies would impose strict sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine. He is said which could start any time. They don't know whether Russian President Vladimir Putin had made the decision of invasion, but they are sure that Putin had put the US in a position to act on very short notice.

A US-based private company had recently reported that Russia had deployed massive military troops along the Ukraine borders. Moscow's fresh deployments were in locations like Crimea, western Russia and Belarus. The company, which has been monitoring Russian movements along Ukraine borders, has shared satellite images of the deployment, including army personnel, hundreds of vehicles, helicopters etc. However, Russia had denied any plans to attack. It had not disclosed how many troops were deployed but stated that it has the right to move forces within its territory as per its wishes.