Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 17, 2022
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Blinken urges Russia to declare it has no intention to invade Ukraine
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a briefing at the State Department in Washington, on January 26, 2022. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool via AP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urges Russia to pull back from war and declare it has no plans to invade Ukraine.
If it seeks peace, Blinken tells the UN Security Council, “the Russian government can announce today with no qualification of equivocation or deflection, that Russia will not invade Ukraine.”
Blinken also says he invites Lavrov to meet in Europe “next week” to discuss the Ukraine crisis.
