Blinken cancels Geneva meeting with Russian FM

As a result, he said he had called off his Thursday meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Echoing President Joe Biden, Blinken said Russian President Vladimir Putins decision to recognize the independence of Ukraines Donbass region was a violation of international law.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has cancelled plans to meet his Russian counterpart in Geneva later this week as Russia presses ahead with recognition of separatist regions of Ukraine.

Blinken told reporters on Tuesday that Russia's actions indicated Moscow was not serious about a diplomatic path to resolving the crisis. As a result, he said he had called off his Thursday meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Echoing President Joe Biden, Blinken said Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to recognize the independence of Ukraine's Donbass region was a violation of international law. And, he said the placement of Russian troops there constituted the beginning of an invasion. Although he held out hope for a peaceful resolution through diplomacy, he said he did not believe a meeting with Lavrov would be productive at this time.