U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken waves as he boards a plane at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on the 18th (local time) to visit Ukraine, Switzerland, and Germany. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Tony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, who is visiting Ukraine, warned of the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine and emphasized that the issue must be resolved diplomatically.
On the 19th (local time), according to AP and AFP reports, Secretary Blinken said in a speech to U.S. Embassy staff after arriving in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, "We know that (Russia) plans to reinforce its troops soon without prior notice."
He warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could soon take additional aggressive actions against Ukraine without warning.
Blinken said, "I strongly hope that we leave this issue on a diplomatic and peaceful path, but the final decision rests with President Putin."
He added, "Russia is challenging the fundamental principle of the international system that 'one country cannot change another country's borders by force,' and if such a principle is allowed to be violated without any punishment, we will be opening a big 'Pandora's box.'"
On the same day in Kyiv, Secretary Blinken met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to discuss ways to address the Ukraine crisis.
On the 20th, he will visit Germany to discuss the same issue, and on the 21st, he is scheduled to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva, Switzerland.
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