U.S. Secretary of State Blinken will visit Ukraine and Germany

Washington, 18 Jan (China News Service) -- The US State Department announced on 18 January local time that US Secretary of State Blinken will visit Ukraine and Germany.

The US State Department issued a statement on the same day, saying that Blinken will visit Ukraine and Germany from January 18 to 20, aiming to resolve the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict situation through diplomatic means. Blinken will meet with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Kureba in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, on the 19th to show "the determination of the United States to safeguard Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

The statement also said that Blinken will arrive in the German capital Berlin on the 20th to meet with German Foreign Minister Berberk and others, and discuss how to deal with the situation in Russia and Ukraine, including large-scale economic sanctions that may be imposed on Russia.

On the same day, Blinken also held a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. In a statement, the U.S. State Department said Blinken and Lavrov referred to diplomatic talks held last week and stressed "the importance of continuing to resolve the current tension through diplomatic means."

Later, at a phone briefing at the U.S. State Department, a senior State Department official said Blinken and Lavrov had decided to meet this week in Geneva, Switzerland. Blinken will head to Geneva after his visits to Ukraine and Germany. The senior official also said that Blinken and Lavrov would meet to show that the possibility of a diplomatic solution remained.

On the 10th of this month, US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov held talks in Geneva on Ukraine-related issues. After the talks, both sides said that no progress had been made on NATO's eastward expansion. (End)

Source: China News Network