Ukraine crisis diplomacy: What you need to know

Ukraine, Feb 10: Tensions around Russia's military buildup near Ukraine have launched a flurry of diplomatic activity, with talks among different European countries continuing Thursday.

The start of joint military exercises by Russia and Belarus have added urgency to efforts to defuse the situation in Ukraine.

What are the latest diplomatic developments from Germany?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to meet with the leaders of the Baltic countries in Berlin in the evening.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called on the West to stand united and persevere ahead of the trip to Germany.

"Our unity in Europe is of key importance at the moment. We must have strategic patience," she told the dpa news agency.

"Estonia is willing to provide weapons and ammunition to help Ukraine defend itself from Russian aggression in cooperation with our allies," she said.

Foreign policy advisers from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine are also meeting in Berlin to continue "Normandy format'' talks, named after the 2015 deal to end major hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.

German Chancellor Scholz is scheduled to visit Kyiv and Moscow on February 14 and 15.

What is happening elsewhere in Europe?

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson traveled to Brussels to meet NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.

Johnson described the Ukraine crisis as being at its most dangerous moment.

"I honestly don't think a decision has yet been taken (by Moscow). But that doesn't mean that it is impossible that something absolutely disastrous could happen very soon indeed," he told a news conference. "Our intelligence, I'm afraid to say remains grim."

He will later head to Poland for talks with President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss traveled to Moscow on Thursday and met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Truss warned Russia that attacking its neighbor will " have massive consequences and carry severe costs." She urged Moscow to de-escalate tensions and abide by international agreements.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in response to Truss's statements "ideological approaches, ultimatums and moralizing is a road to nowhere."

What's happened so far this week on Ukraine

The week kicked off with French President Emmanuel Macron going to Moscow to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Macron told reporters that he had made proposals of "concrete security guarantees" to Putin, proposals which Putin described as "realistic" and could form a basis for further joint steps.

On Tuesday, Macron traveled to Kyiv to speak with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Upon arriving in Kyiv, Macron told reporters that he had received assurances from Putin that Moscow "won't be initiating an escalation" in the conflict.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also made a two-day visit to Ukraine. In Kyiv, she vowed solidarity with Ukraine, despite Berlin's refusal to send weapons to the country. Baerbock then went to the front line in eastern Ukraine to get a firsthand account of the humanitarian and military situation.

Germany's Olaf Scholz met with US President Biden in Washington on Monday. At a joint press conference, Biden promised there would be no advancement of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Scholz said that "far-reaching measures" had been agreed upon by Germany and its allies.

Source: DW