Blinken to urge de-escalation in meeting with Russia's Lavrov -U.S. official

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will urge Moscow to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation on its border with Ukraine in a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday.

The official, in a briefing with reporters, said so far Russia had done the opposite of de-escalation despite continued diplomacy and could launch an attack on Ukraine at any point, possibly between January and February.