Flags of the United States and Russia are seen at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia. The top diplomats for both countries will speak on Tuesday to address concerns about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. File Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA-EFE
Feb. 1 (UPI) — A day after the United States and Russia clashed over Ukraine at the United Nations Security Council, the countries’ top two diplomats were scheduled to speak by phone on Tuesday to address escalating fears about Moscow ordering a military invasion.
Officials said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov will speak, with a goal of heading off further military escalation near Russia’s border with Ukraine.
Tuesday’s phone call is another effort by the United States and Western nations to dissuade Russia from an incursion into Ukraine — similar to the Security Council’s meeting in New York City on Monday which came after a request from U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration.
“We continue to engage in nonstop diplomacy and to de-escalate tensions and attempt like the devil to improve security for our allies and partners and for all of Europe, for that matter,” Biden said Monday, according to The Washington Post.
Blinken and Lavrov met in person on Jan. 21 in Geneva with the same goal. No breakthroughs came in Switzerland, but both sides agreed to keep talking.
At Monday’s Security Council meeting, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned Moscow against military intervention — and emphasized that the United States and Western allies want a “path of peace” and dialogue.
Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vasily Nebenzya countered by accused the United States of “provoking” the conflict, and said that Moscow has no plans to cross the border into Ukraine.
U.S. officials say they have received a written response from Russia about questions they posed after the last meeting between Blinken and Lavrov. The White House didn’t detail the answers, saying that it wouldn’t be productive to negotiate in public.