(Reuters) – STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Russian counterpart to warn him face-to-face of the “severe implications” of an invasion of Ukraine and to encourage him to seek a diplomatic solution to the problem.
Blinken issued the warning to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting in Stockholm, only a day after stressing that Washington was prepared to respond forcefully, including with harsh penalties, in the case of a Russian strike.
“The best approach to defuse the problem is via diplomacy, which I look forward to discussing with Sergei,” Blinken told reporters before meeting with Lavrov.
He stated that Russia and Ukraine should both fully follow their duties under the 2014 Minsk peace process, which was intended to end a war in the east of the former Soviet republic between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian government troops.
According to Blinken, Washington is eager to help facilitate this, but “if Russia chose to pursue conflict, there will be substantial consequences.”
According to Lavrov, Moscow was willing to talk to Kyiv. “We, like President (Vladimir) Putin, do not want any disputes,” he added.