President Vladimir Putin's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has urged the Russian government and the international community to continue discussions on resolving the crisis in Ukraine.
According to Russian officials, they will continue diplomatic negotiations with the West in an effort to defuse a security situation in which they have amassed a massive military force within striking distance of the Ukrainian border.
When asked about the prospect of reaching a deal with the West over Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated, "There is always a possibility." Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed, saying, "There is always a chance."
He informed Putin that his discussions with leaders in European capitals and Washington had shown enough potential for progress on Russia's objectives to warrant further investigation.
"I would propose that we continue," Lavrov said during a televised speech. "Fine," Putin said in response.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States had put forward concrete proposals for reducing military risks, but that the responses from NATO and the European Union – which has been careful not to allow Moscow to divide its members – had not been satisfactory.
As Stephen Nix of the International Republican Institute explained to Al Jazeera from Washington, DC, "it remains to be seen whether these are genuine negotiations or merely attempts to postpone the invasion that (Putin) has threatened to launch while he continues to slice away at the West's position."
As a result of what the United States termed a "dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian troops," the United States said on Monday that it will temporarily transfer its embassy in Kiev to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, near the Polish border.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement announcing the decision that the United States will continue to work for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
"If Russia chooses to engage in good faith, there is still a road to diplomacy open to it." In addition, Blinken said that "we look forward to restoring our workers to the Embassy as soon as the circumstances permit."
President Joe Biden, who had talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend, spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson by phone on Monday.
During the phone discussion, the leaders "addressed their recent diplomatic engagements with Ukraine and Russia," according to a statement released by the White House after the conversation.
"They also discussed current diplomatic and deterrent measures in response to Russia's continuous military buildup on Ukraine's borders, and they reiterated their support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," according to the statement.
In response, the British government said that Biden and Johnson "agreed that a critical opportunity for dialogue remained open, as well as for Russia to draw back from its threats to Ukraine."
Russia has stationed more than 100,000 soldiers on Ukraine's borders, but it has denied that it is preparing to invade, accusing the West of being hysterical after sending a flurry of officials to both Moscow and Kyiv.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
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