Top US, Russian envoys discuss Ukraine at 'critical moment'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Friday that a weekslong standoff over Ukraine is at a “critical moment,” as he headed into talks with his Russian counterpart amid rising concerns that Europe could again be beset by war.

Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov lowered expectations ahead of the meeting in Geneva, with each saying in his own way that the talks were only one step.

unity with its allies in opposition to a possible Russian invasion — and tried to do just that Thursday, a day after U.S.

President Joe Biden drew widespread criticism for saying retaliation for Russian aggression in Ukraine would depend on the details and that a “minor incursion” could prompt discord among Western allies.

On Thursday, Biden cautioned that any Russian troop movements across Ukraine’s border would constitute an invasion and that Moscow would “pay a heavy price” for such an action.

“He has no misunderstanding: Any, any assembled Russian units move across the Ukrainian border, that is an invasion.”