04:25As we reported earlier, US secretary of state Antony Blinken is to meet the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, next week, warning the crisis in Ukraine was a “moment of peril for the lives and safety of millions of people”. The US state department said on Thursday night that Blinken had accepted an invitation to meet Lavrov provided there was no invasion of Ukraine. The move provides hope that diplomatic channels remained open even as US warnings of an imminent invasion grow louder. “If they do invade in the coming days, it will make clear they were never serious about diplomacy,” said state department spokesperson Ned Price. Blinken said earlier on Thursday he had sent a letter to Lavrov proposing a meeting in Europe.

Source: The Guardian February 18, 2022 11:54 UTC