Geneva

The United States and Russia sought to lower the temperature on Jan. 21 in a heated standoff over Ukraine, even as they said no breakthrough was imminent in the crisis that has raised fears of a possible Russian invasion.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday he thinks Russia will invade Ukraine and warned President Vladimir Putin that his country would pay a "dear price" in lives lost and a possible cutoff from the global banking system if it does.

In the last 24 hours, 17.318 newly infected with coronavirus were registered, while 28 people died as a result of COVID-19 infection.
There are 112 patients on respirators.

"70 percent of the population will be infected" Ilustracija, foto: EPA/Marko Djokovic

Blinken immediately warned that Russia could carry out the attack "in a very short time".
"As you all know, in the last few months we have been engaged in an intensive focus on Ukraine due to the significant accumulation of Russian forces we saw near the Ukrainian border," Blinken said in a conversation with Ukrainian diplomats at the US Embassy in Kiev, Reuters reports.

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adanom Gebrejesus, has warned world leaders that the coronavirus pandemic is "far from over", the BBC reported.

The head of the WHO opposes the assumption that the new dominant variant Omicron is significantly softer/milder and has eliminated the threat of the virus.

The World Health Organization has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, as France, Germany and Brazil posted new records of infections in the past 24 hours.

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday to choose "a peaceful path" as the top U.S. diplomat paid a solidarity visit to Ukraine amid invasion fears.

"I strongly, strongly hope that we can keep this on a diplomatic and peaceful path, but ultimately, that's going to be President Putin's decision," Blinken said at the U.S. embassy.

Geneva – Slovenia, in its capacity as the presiding country of the Council of the EU, requested a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the situation in Ethiopia on Monday. More than 50 countries supported the call, Slovenia’s Permanent Mission to the UN Office in Geneva announced on Twitter.

They will discuss military tensions and other issues in Ukraine via a video link.
The U.S. President wants to talk with Putin about the deployment of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine, Reuters quoted an unnamed source from the American administration as saying, but also about strategic stability, cyber security and regional issues.

"We consider India a great power, a friendly nation and a secure ally," Putin told reporters ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Putin is in India to strengthen military and energy cooperation. This is Putin's second trip abroad since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.