U.S., Russia on ‘clearer path’ to an understanding amid Ukraine tensions: Blinken

Blinken met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Geneva on Friday amid rising conerns that Russia is planning an invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he didn’t expect any breakthroughs in talks with Russia on Ukraine, but the two sides are on a “clearer path” to understanding each other’s concerns.

Blinken met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Geneva on Friday amid rising conerns that Russia is planning an invasion of Ukraine. Russia denies this.

Armed with seemingly intractable and diametrically opposed demands, Blinken and Lavrov met at what the American said was a “critical moment.”

With an estimated 100,000 Russian troops massed near Ukraine, many fear Moscow is preparing an invasion although Russia denies that. The U.S. and its allies are scrambling to present a united front to prevent that or coordinate a tough response if they can’t.

The talks were seen as a possible last-ditch effort at dialogue. Lavrov called them “constructive and useful” and said that the U.S. agreed to provide written responses to Russian demands on Ukraine and NATO next week. That could at least delay any imminent aggression for a few days.

But Lavrov declined to characterize that pledge.

“I can’t say whether we are on the right track or not,” he told reporters. “We will understand that when we receive the U.S. written response to all of our proposals.”

Ahead of the meeting, the two diplomats remained far apart.