Blinken urges Lavrov to pull troops from border

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Russian counterpart Friday that the Kremlin could defuse tensions and concerns about a potential invasion by removing an extraordinary deployment of troops and equipment away from Ukraine’s borders.

The meeting between Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov came as Western officials, including President Joe Biden, have said they expect Moscow to launch an incursion into Ukraine. U.S. intelligence has indicated Russia could attack within a month’s time.

The U.S. is not convinced of Russia’s claim that it is not preparing for an invasion of its ex-Soviet neighbor, Blinken said.

“If Russia wants to begin to convince the world that it has no aggressive intent toward Ukraine, a very good place to start would be by deescalating by bringing back and removing these forces from Ukraine’s borders,” Blinken told reporters following a 90-minute meeting with Lavrov in Geneva.

“We and all of our allies and partners are equally committed to making sure we are doing everything possible to make clear to Russia that there will be a swift, severe and united response to any form of aggression by Russia directed to Ukraine,” Blinken added.

Meanwhile, Russian officials have repeatedly called on the U.S. to prevent an eastward expansion of NATO, the world’s most powerful military alliance.

Russia has also demanded that the U.S. “shall not establish military bases” in the territories of any former Soviet states that are not already members of NATO, or “use their infrastructure for any military activities or develop bilateral military cooperation with them.”

Since 2002, Ukraine has sought entry into NATO, where the group’s Article 5 clause states that an attack on one member country is considered an attack on all of them.

When asked about those demands on Friday, Blinken said the U.S., as well as the NATO alliance, would not negotiate the terms of member entry with the Kremlin.

Before heading to Switzerland, Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv in order to reaffirm Washington’s commitment to a sovereign Ukraine. The nation’s top diplomat then traveled to Berlin to meet with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to discuss joint efforts to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine.

“These are difficult issues we’re facing. Resolving them won’t happen…