Diplomacy only possible way to resolve Ukraine crisis: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at UN- 5points

Blinken asserted how Washington believes Russia could seek to invade Ukraine, warning that Moscow was preparing to take such military action in the "coming days."

New York: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday (February 17) addressed the diplomatic meeting on the developing Ukraine crisis at the United Nations Security Council and asserted how Washington believes Russia could seek to invade Ukraine, warning that Moscow was preparing to take such military action in the "coming days."

However, Russia has denied claims of a planned invasion and said it is not planning any attack.

Here are some key takeaways from Blinken's United Nations address today:

• Blinken accused Russia of planning to manufacture a pretext for an attack on Ukraine that could include "a fake, even a real, attack using chemical weapons.
• "The Russian government can announce today, with no qualification, equivocation or deflection, that Russia will not invade Ukraine. State it clearly. State it plainly to the world, and then demonstrate it by sending your troops, your tanks, the planes back to their barracks and hangars and sending your diplomats to the negotiating table," Blinken said.
• Blinken said U.S. information indicated that Russian forces "are preparing to launch an attack against Ukraine in the coming days." He said he has asked Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to meet in Europe next week.
• This Council's primary responsibility is the preservation of peace & security. The most immediate threat to peace & security is Russia's looming aggression against Ukraine.
• Diplomacy is the only responsible way to resolve this crisis and an essential part of this is through the implementation of the Minsk Agreement

Earlier on Thursday, Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces traded accusations of firing shells across the ceasefire line in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, in what Kyiv said appeared to be a "provocation."

Yasar Halit Çevik, chief monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, told the Security Council that while some 500 explosions had been recorded overnight, "the tension may seem to be easing."