| US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln speaks during a briefing at the State Department. © AFP=News1 |
U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blincoln will visit Ukraine and Germany from the 18th to the 20th, amid a deadlock in security negotiations between the West and Russia.
According to Reuters, the State Department said in a statement on the 18th (local time) that Secretary of State Blincoln would visit Kiev, Ukraine, to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleva.
Next, Blincoln will head to Berlin, Germany, to meet with German Foreign Minister Analena Verbock, and meet with British, French and German officials.
“Secretary Blincoln will discuss diplomatic involvement with Russia and will discuss joint efforts with allies and partners to deter further Russian aggression in Ukraine,” the State Department said.
The U.S. is expected to give a written response within this week on the security requirements proposed by Russia to the West, according to the Rianovosti news agency.
 |
| From left, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and US President Joe Biden. © AFP=News1 |
Meanwhile, Russia and its ally Belarus have begun joint exercises, and military tensions are rising.
According to the AFP news agency, the Belarusian Defense Ministry has released footage of the joint exercise with Russia to the media. The video showed military vehicles, including tanks, being pulled out of a snow-covered train.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Fomin said the S-400 air defense missile system, which Russia had sold to Turkey, would be deployed as part of the exercise. It was not announced how many troops would be deployed.
Russia held security negotiations with the United States on the 10th, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on the 12th, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on the 13th, but the talks ended without an agreement.
Meanwhile, CNN, citing U.S. officials, reported that Russia was sending agents into eastern Ukraine to justify its invasion. It was explained that the reason was to use the pretext that Ukraine attacked the Russian army.
On the 14th, a large-scale hacking attack occurred in Ukraine, temporarily paralyzing the website of seven ministries, including the Cabinet and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the national emergency service. Russia was blamed for this.
 |
| © News1 Designer Kim Chohee |
pasta@news1.kr
