15/02/2022
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Monday that Western countries “are ready for a serious dialogue with Russia on European security issues" but also are looking for Russian President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate his threat of an imminent invasion of Ukraine.
Scholz offered a new opening to the Kremlin after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv, even as the U.S. and its allies have warned that Putin could launch a massive attack on Ukraine within days with a missile and aerial bombardment followed by a swift ground invasion.
There was no immediate comment from Russia on Scholz's remarks. Earlier, however, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested to Putin that he continue talks with the U.S. and NATO countries, even though the West has rejected Putin’s main demand to rule out possible Ukraine membership in the NATO military alliance.
A NATO official, in an email to VOA, characterized the tense standoff as “a dangerous moment for European security. A major conflict in Ukraine could see large numbers of displaced people fleeing the fighting. There is still time to avoid such unnecessary suffering. Everything must be done to avoid this kind of an impact on civilians.”
The White House said U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about their efforts to upgrade NATO’s “defensive posture” on the alliance’s eastern flank closest to Russia.
https://www.voanews.com/a/zelenskiy-hosting-germany-s-scholz-for-ukraine-russia-crisis-talks-/6440586.html
