Blinken says US open to diplomacy on Ukraine, hard to see without de-escalation

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a meeting with Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister Rodolfo Solano Quiros, Panama’s Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes and Dominican Republic’s Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez, at the State Department in Washington, U.S., March 2, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/Pool

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday the United States had made clear to Ukraine it will support Kyiv’s efforts at diplomacy with Russia but it was hard to see a diplomatic path without a military de-escalation.

In a comment addressed to the Russian people, Blinken also told a news conference the United States knew many of them wanted nothing to do with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.

RELATED STORY:

U.S. hits Russian banks, elites with sanctions over Ukraine crisis