The Buzz | US pushes unity on Ukraine ahead of key Russia meetings

In a display of unity, the Biden administration and its European allies are beginning a series of meetings aimed at showing Russia that an invasion of Ukraine would be met with a forceful response.

Using virtually identical language, the U.S. and its European allies have several times in the past month issued joint and individual messages advising Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country will face “massive consequences” and “severe costs” if he goes ahead with further military intervention in Ukraine.

Yet the severity of the response hinges largely on Germany, Europe’s biggest economy and a diplomatic heavyweight within the block. Potential actions — be they economic, diplomatic or political — will top the agenda in talks in Washington today [Macau time] between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and new German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

The Blinken-Baerbock meeting will follow a telephone call last week between President Joe Biden and Putin, a conversation Sunday between Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and a group discussion yesterday among Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his counterparts from the five Nordic nations.

It will precede a flurry of meetings involving NATO foreign ministers, senior U.S. and Russian officials, the NATO-Russia Council and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe set for next week.