Blinken hopes Russia to opt for de-escalation path in Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hopes Russia will prefer to de-escalate the conflict with Ukraine and calls on Moscow to withdraw their troops away from the Ukrainian border.

That’s according to the Voice of America, Ukrinform reports.

"I very much hope that Russia chooses to de-escalate, to pull back its forces, and to engage in diplomacy over what differences exist," the top diplomat said.

Blinken added that the United States is ready to help promote the implementation of the Minsk agreements, which, he said could be "a much better way to resolve the differences that exist" on Ukraine.

The U.S. Secretary of State also believes that the threat to Ukraine from Russia is "very serious."

"It’s very serious because what we’ve seen is the massing of significant forces near the border with Ukraine.  We’ve seen efforts at destabilization within Ukraine, a social media propaganda campaign against Ukraine that has gone up about ten times in terms of the volume of what we’re seeing on social media over the last month," he said.

The Ukrainian government earlier said Russian troops could go for an offensive against Ukraine in late January 2022. Citing U.S. intelligence sources on Saturday, the Washington Post also reported the possibility of an attack involving 100 battalions worth of tactical units, which is nearly 175,000 forces, along with tanks, artillery, and other military hardware. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has denied plotting an incursion, blaming the West for allowing Ukraine to arm itself.

Meanwhile, the White House confirmed plans of U.S. and Russian presidents, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, to hold a video call on Tuesday.

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