Muristek
Moscow, February 14
Russia suggested on Monday that it was ready to keep talking to the West to try to defuse a security crisis in which it has massed a huge force within striking distance of Ukraine, while a Ukrainian official said Kyiv was prepared to make concessions.
In a televised exchange, President Vladimir Putin was shown asking his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov whether there was a chance of an agreement to address Russia's security concerns, or whether it was just being dragged into tortuous negotiations.
Lavrov replied: "We have already warned more than once that we will not allow endless negotiations on questions that demand a solution today."
But he added: "It seems to me that our possibilities are far from exhausted...At this stage, I would suggest continuing and building them up."
Washington has said Russia could invade Ukraine "any day now", and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday called the situation "very, very dangerous".
Russia has positioned more than 1,00,000 troops near to Ukraine's borders but denies planning to invade, accusing the West, which has sent a flurry of officials to Moscow and Kyiv, of hysteria. — Reuters
Poland to accept Ukrainian refugees
Warsaw: Poland, the largest European Union nation to border Ukraine, is making preparations to accept Ukrainian refugees in the event of another Russian attack on that country. But the Polish government hopes that worst-case scenario can be averted. AP
German leader in Ukraine
Kyiv: More NATO troops headed to Eastern Europe and some nations worked to move their citizens and diplomats out of Ukraine on Monday, as Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a last-ditch attempt to head off a feared Russian invasion that some warn could be just days away. Scholz visited Ukraine on Monday and plans to continue on to Moscow, where he will try to persuade Russian President to stand down. AP