US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said all signs indicated Russia was on
the verge of an invasion of Ukraine.
However, it still vowed that Washington would use every opportunity until
the last minute to see if diplomacy would deter Moscow from moving forward.
Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," Blinken defended Washington's
position that the deterrent effect of the sanctions would be lost if they
were triggered before the invasion despite an impassioned request from
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday to impose the sanctions.
"Everything we have seen shows that this is very serious, that we are on the
verge of an invasion. We will do everything we can to try to prevent it
before that happens," Blinken said, adding that the West was equally
prepared if Moscow attacked.
"Until the tanks do launch, and the planes fly, we will seize every
opportunity and every minute we have to see if diplomacy can still deter
President (Vladimir) Putin from continuing this," he said. 2022).
Blinken said his planned meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
would still continue next week as long as Moscow does not go ahead with the
invasion. President Joe Biden is also ready to engage with Putin at any
time.
"In any format if it can help prevent war," Blinken added.
Western leaders have warned of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, estimating
that more than 150,000 Russian troops have surrounded the country.
Earlier, Belarus' defense minister said his country and Russia were
extending military drills that were due to end on Sunday.
The decision to extend the exercise was made due to military activity near
the Russian and Belarusian borders and the escalation of the situation in
the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine.
This was stated by the Belarusian Ministry of Defense. Washington has warned
that Russia could use false claims about the conflict in Ukraine's Donbass
region, including reports of mass graves and allegations of chemical weapons
production, to justify an invasion of the former Soviet state.
Asked if the decision made him more worried about an invasion, Blinken
replied: "Yes".
"All this together with the false flag operations we saw exposed over the
weekend tell us that the guidelines we are putting together are moving
forward," he said.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in an interview with broadcaster ABC
warned of heavy casualties if Russia attacked with the tanks, armored
vehicles, artillery and rocket troops they had amassed on the Ukrainian
border.
"You can see a large number of fighting forces moving very quickly now to
take Kiev," he said.
"If he uses that kind of combat power, it will definitely create a huge
casualty in the civilian population."