Russian troops remain near Ukraine's borders, and bellicose rhetoric from Russian officials has Western officials on edge.
WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden will speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday -- their second conversation this month amid heightened fears of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Sanctions and other penalties have not brought that conflict to an end, with approximately 14,000 people killed and Russian-led separatists still fighting Ukrainian forces. U.S. officials say it's unclear if Putin has decided to attack again in an all-out invasion, but Biden has already made clear U.S. forces will not come to Kyiv's aid on the battlefield.
"Open lines of dialogue, open lines of diplomacy have the potential to be constructive as we seek to de-escalate the potential for conflict in and around Ukraine," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said of the talks. "It's about us. This is not simply the case for two states, i.e. America and Russia, or NATO and Russia -- even if Moscow imagines it," he added in the interview, published Wednesday.
But other items on Russia's public demands are not"unacceptable" and could be addressed through diplomacy, Blinken, Price and others have said -- provided that Russia de-escalate as well by pulling back its forces from Ukraine's borders.
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