WASHINGTON (AP) xe2x80x94 Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with his Russian counterpart in Switzerland this week as tensions between the U.S. and Russia escalate over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, the State Department said Tuesday.

The State Department said Blinken will travel to Kyiv on Wednesday to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, move on to Berlin and then meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday. The hastily arranged trip aims to show U.S. support for Ukraine and impress on Russia the need for de-escalation.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki underscored the urgency. xe2x80x9cWexe2x80x99re now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack in Ukraine. And what Secretary Blinken is going to go do is highlight very clearly there is a diplomatic path forward,xe2x80x9d she said.

Psaki said Russian President Vladimir Putin created the crisis by massing 100,000 troops along Ukrainexe2x80x99s borders and it is up to him and the Russians to decide whether to invade and then xe2x80x9csuffer severe economic consequences.xe2x80x9d

The U.S. has not concluded whether Putin plans to invade or whether the show of force is intended to squeeze security concessions without an actual conflict. Russia has brushed off calls to withdraw its troops by saying it has a right to deploy its forces wherever it likes on its own territory.

Blinkenxe2x80x99s meetings follow inconclusive diplomatic talks between Moscow and the West in Europe last week that failed to resolve stark disagreements over Ukraine and other security matters.

Instead, those meetings appear to have increased fears of a Russian invasion, and the Biden administration has accused Russia of preparing axc2xa0xe2x80x9cfalse flag operationxe2x80x9dxc2xa0to use as a pretext for intervention. Russia hasxc2xa0angrily denied the charge.

From Kyiv, Blinken will travel to Berlin, where he will meet with his German, British and French counterparts to discuss a possible response to any Russian military action. In Geneva on Friday, Blinken will be testing Lavrov on Russiaxe2x80x99s interest in a xe2x80x9cdiplomatic off-rampxe2x80x9d for the crisis, a senior State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Blinkenxe2x80x99s xe2x80x9ctravel and consultations are part of the diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the tension caused by Russiaxe2x80x99s military build-up and continued aggression against Ukraine,xe2x80x9d the State Department said in a statement.

Blinken will meet with Zelenskyy and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday xe2x80x9cto reinforce the United Statesxe2x80x99 commitment to Ukrainexe2x80x99s sovereignty and territorial integrity,xe2x80x9d the State Department said.

xe2x80x9cThe trip follows extensive diplomacy with our European Allies and partners about a united approach to address the threat Russia poses to Ukraine and our joint efforts to encourage it to choose diplomacy and de-escalation in the interests of security and stability,xe2x80x9d it said.

CIA Director William Burns visited Kyiv last Wednesday to consult with his Ukrainian counterparts and discuss current assessments of the risk to Ukraine, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss Burnsxe2x80x99 schedule, which is classified. While there, he also discussed the current situation with Zelenskyy and efforts to de-escalate tensions.

Blinken spoke by phone Tuesday withxc2xa0Lavrov, discussing the diplomatic talks and meetings held last week. The State Department said Blinken xe2x80x9cstressed the importance of continuing a diplomatic path to de-escalate tensionsxe2x80x9d surrounding the Russia-Ukraine situation and xe2x80x9creiterated the unshakable U.S. commitmentxe2x80x9d to Ukrainexe2x80x99s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

On Monday, Lavrov, Russiaxe2x80x99s top diplomat, rejected the U.S. allegations that his country was preparing a pretext to invade Ukraine. Speaking to reporters, he dismissed the U.S. claim as xe2x80x9ctotal disinformation.xe2x80x9d

Lavrov reaffirmed that Russia expects a written response this week from the U.S. and its allies to Moscowxe2x80x99s request for binding guarantees that NATO will not embrace Ukraine or any other ex-Soviet countries or station its forces and weapons there.

Blinken underscored to Lavrov on Tuesday that any discussion of European security xe2x80x9cmust include NATO Allies and European partners, including Ukraine,xe2x80x9d the State Department said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov emphasized in the call with Blinken the key aspects of Russian draft documents envisaging xe2x80x9clegally binding guarantees of Russiaxe2x80x99s security in line with the principle of indivisibility of security approved by all countries in the Euro-Atlantic.xe2x80x9d It said Lavrov stressed the importance for Washington to quickly deliver a written response to the Russian proposals.

Washington and its allies firmly rejected Moscowxe2x80x99s demands during last weekxe2x80x99s Russia-U.S. negotiations in Geneva and a relatedxc2xa0NATO-Russia meetingxc2xa0in Brussels.

The White House said Friday that U.S. intelligence officials had concluded that Russia had already deployed operatives to rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine to carry out acts of sabotage there and blame them on Ukraine to create a pretext for possible invasion.

Ahead of Blinkenxe2x80x99s visit to Kyiv, axc2xa0delegation of U.S. senatorsxc2xa0was visiting Ukraine to emphasize congressional support for the country.

xe2x80x9cOur bipartisan congressional delegation sends a clear message to the global community: the United States stands in unwavering support of our Ukrainian partners to defend their sovereignty and in the face of persistent Russian aggression,xe2x80x9d Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, said in a statement.

Speaking Monday on a visit to Kyiv, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned that xe2x80x9cany further escalation would carry a high price for the Russian regime xe2x80x94 economic, political and strategic,xe2x80x9d and she emphasized the need to continue negotiations.

xe2x80x9cWe are prepared to have a serious dialogue with Russia, because diplomacy is the only way to defuse this highly dangerous situation at the moment,xe2x80x9d she said.

Russia in 2014 seized thexc2xa0Crimean Peninsulaxc2xa0after the ouster of Ukrainexe2x80x99s Moscow-friendly leader and also threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. More than 14,000 people have been killed in nearly eight years of fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces in the countryxe2x80x99s industrial heartland called Donbas.

Putinxc2xa0has warned that Moscow will take unspecified xe2x80x9cmilitary-technical measuresxe2x80x9d if the West stonewalls its demands.

___

Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov contributed to this report from Moscow.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.