![Russia opens door to diplomacy in Ukraine standoff](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/2d/19/56/Russia-opens-door-to-diplomacy-in-U-440830.jpg)
-
First Olympic medals up for grabs as rain disrupts Games
-
Epic pool rivalry lights up first day of Olympic medal action
-
IOC apologises for South Korea gaffe in Olympics opening ceremony
-
Bangladesh says student leaders held for their own safety
-
Japan's Sado mines added to World Heritage list
-
'Windmill love' sees Dutch artist become mill operator
-
US defends law forcing sale of TikTok app
-
Messi out for defending champ Miami as Leagues Cup begins
-
Australia bans uranium mining at Indigenous site
-
Divers attempt to reach sunken Philippine oil tanker
-
Trump accuses Harris of anti-Semitism in overblown speech
-
Coughlin clings to lead at LPGA Canadian Women's Open
-
Trump offers tech sector policy flips ahead of election
-
Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter
-
What's the fallout of Mexican drug lords' capture?
-
Video game makers see actors as AI 'data,' says union on strike
-
Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
-
'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
-
'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
-
Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
-
Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
-
Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
-
The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
-
Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
-
Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
-
Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
-
Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
-
New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
-
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
-
Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
-
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
-
Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
-
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
-
Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
-
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
-
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
-
Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
-
Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
-
S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
-
Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
-
G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
-
European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
-
Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
-
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
-
Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders face US charges after stunning capture
-
Spain train driver jailed for 2.5 years over deadly 2013 crash
-
Paris poised for Olympic opening ceremony spectacular
-
Judoka fails doping test in first case at Paris Olympics
-
Holder and Da Silva keep England at bay after West Indies collapse
![Russia opens door to diplomacy in Ukraine standoff](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/2d/19/56/Russia-opens-door-to-diplomacy-in-U-440830.jpg)
Russia opens door to diplomacy in Ukraine standoff
Russia appeared to open the door Monday to a diplomatic resolution of the deepening Ukraine standoff, as the United States said it believed Vladimir Putin had yet to make a final decision on invading the ex-Soviet state.
While Russia said it was ending some military drills, signalling a possible easing of the crisis, in Washington the alert level remained high -- with a top official calling the threat of invasion "more real than ever before."
As speculation mounted that Russian troops massed on the Ukraine border could launch an attack this week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was due in Moscow on Tuesday for talks with the Russian president -- the latest in a series of visits by European leaders aimed at avoiding a full-blown conflict.
Previous visitors have been given short shrift by the Russian leader and his top aides, who have consistently argued that the current crisis is the result of the United States and western Europe ignoring Moscow's legitimate security concerns.
But a carefully choreographed meeting Monday between Putin and his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, seemed to signal a change in tone, with the latter stressing there was "always a chance" for agreement with the West over Ukraine.
Exchanges with leaders in European capitals and Washington showed enough of an opening for progress on Russia's goals to be worth pursuing, he told Putin.
"I would suggest continuing," Lavrov said in televised remarks. "Fine," Putin replied.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres insisted "there is no alternative to diplomacy," and warned that abandoning such an approach in favor of confrontation would equate to "a dive over a cliff."
As the Russian remarks were seized on by some as offering hope of a de-escalation, the Pentagon said Moscow's forces on the border with Ukraine were still growing, "to well north of 100,000."
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Washington still did not believe Moscow had made a final decision on whether to invade.
But the United States said it was joining other nations in relocating its Kyiv embassy to the western city of Lviv, in light of the "dramatic acceleration" of the buildup.
"It is a distinct possibility, perhaps more real than ever before, that Russia may decide to proceed with military action, with new Russian forces continuing to arrive at the Ukrainian border," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
- Scholz to Moscow -
As Western intelligence officials warned that Wednesday could mark the start of an invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to dismiss the suggestion in a video address to the nation announcing the day would be marked as "Unity Day."
"They tell us that February 16 will be the day of the invasion. We will make this into Unity Day," Zelensky said -- urging his fellow countrymen to fly the national flag in defiance.
Western leaders consider the Russian troop build-up to be the worst threat to the continent's security since the Cold War, and have prepared a crippling package of economic sanctions in response to any attack on Ukraine -- although Moscow has repeatedly said it has no such plans.
Recent Russian military exercises, including with Belarus, where the US said Moscow had dispatched 30,000 troops for more than a week of drills, further raised concerns -- although Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin Monday that some of the drills were "ending."
During a news conference in Kyiv with Zelensky, Scholz said there was "no reasonable justification" for the build-up of troops, vowing Berlin and its allies would maintain support for Ukraine's security and independence.
Speaking alongside Scholz, Zelensky meanwhile repeated that joining the NATO alliance would guarantee Ukraine's survival -- a key sticking point in negotiations between Russia and the West.
But as he prepared to head to Moscow, Scholz appealed to Russia to take up "offers of dialogue."
Germany already plays a central role in efforts to mediate in eastern Ukraine, where a gruelling conflict with Russian-backed separatists has claimed more than 14,000 lives.
Germany's close business relations with Moscow and heavy reliance on Russian natural gas imports have however been a source of lingering concern for Kyiv's pro-Western leaders and US President Joe Biden's administration.
- 'Digging trenches' -
"We are digging trenches that Ukrainian soldiers could quickly jump into and defend in case the Russians attack," 15-year-old Mykhailo Anopa told AFP.
In Moscow, Russians showed no appetite for war.
"People in the West do not understand that we are one people," Pavel Kuleshov, a 65-year-old pensioner, told AFP, referring to Russians and Ukrainians. "Nobody wants a civil war."
zak-mt-jbr-ec/mlm
M.Gameiro--PC