WASHINGTON, DC — US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken on Sunday said
Russia had to choose between dialogue and confrontation, ahead
of talks in Geneva on soaring tensions over
Ukraine.
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"There's a path of dialogue and diplomacy to try to
resolve some of these differences and avoid a confrontation," Blinken told
CNN's "State of the Union" show.
"The other path is confrontation and massive
consequences for Russia if it renews its aggression on Ukraine. We are about to
test the proposition about which path President Putin is prepared to
take."
Vladimir Putin's government has reportedly massed tens of
thousands of military troops along Russia's border with Ukraine, drawing
Washington into a Cold War-style stand-off.
Blinken warned that any positive outcome from the talks
would rely in part on Russia's willingness to stand down from its aggressive
posture, which he likened to "an atmosphere of escalation with a gun to
Ukraine's head."
"So if we're actually going to make progress, we're
going to have to see de-escalation, Russia pulling back from the threat that it
currently poses to Ukraine," US President Joe Biden's top diplomat said.
On Sunday Moscow ruled out any concession at the highly
anticipated talks, which open a week of diplomacy in which Russian officials
will meet with
NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe.
The Kremlin, wary of NATO's potential eastward expansion,
has insisted the grouping never grant membership to Ukraine, a former Soviet
state which is pushing to join the trans-Atlantic body.
Washington has also acknowledged that Moscow has expressed
interest in discussing the future of missile systems in Europe.
Blinken made the Sunday talk show rounds playing up the need
for dialogue.
He acknowledged he was not anticipating major breakthroughs
in the talks, but stressed there were potential punishments awaiting
Washington's rival if it does not engage in diplomacy.
Russia could face severe economic and financial
consequences, "as well as NATO almost certainly having to reinforce its
position near Russia as well as continuing to provide assistance to
Ukraine," he told ABC's "This Week."
"This is not just me saying it. We have had the G7 make
clear there would be massive consequences. The
EU and NATO partners and allies
as well."
Earlier this month Biden told Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky that Washington and its allies would "respond decisively" if
Russia moves to invade.
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