Top US, European diplomats hold talks on Ukraine crisis

By MATTHEW LEE and FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Top American and European diplomats are seeking to project a united front to Russia over concerns that it may be planning an invasion of Ukraine. Russia has massed an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine, and U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday he thinks Moscow will invade. He warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country would pay a “dear price” in lives lost and a possible cutoff from the global banking system if it does. Against that backdrop, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks in Berlin on Thursday with diplomats from Germany, France and Britain. A day earlier, he met Ukraine’s president. Russia has denied it is planning an invasion and has accused the West of plotting “provocations” in Ukraine.