German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is set to hold talks in Moscow on Tuesday, seeking to ease tensions amid fears that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine. Baerbock had spent the previous daysin Kyiv, where she said Germany would "do our all to guarantee Ukraine's security." She also said any attack on Ukraine would come with a high price for the aggressor. However, Berlin has been vague on the actual steps it was taking to help Ukraine. Unlike the United States and the UK, Germany has refused to supply the ex-Soviet state with defensive weapons. Baerbock, instead, has offered to boost Ukraine's cyber defenses.

Baerbock to talk security with Lavrov
During her first visit to Moscow, Baerbock is due to give a joint press conference with Russia's veteran Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The two are expected to focus on the border standoff between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the demands for security guarantees Moscow has recently delivered to NATO.

Russia currently has an estimated 100,000 troops stationed on its border with Ukraine. Moscow has also been demanding that NATO drastically scale back its military buildup in eastern Europe and wants to secure a pledge from the trans-Atlantic military alliance that it will never accept Ukraine as a member. But Russia denies seeking a pretext to invade Ukraine or planning an attack. Russia currently has an estimated 100,000 troops stationed on its border with Ukraine. Moscow has also been demanding that NATO drastically scale back its military buildup in eastern Europe and wants to secure a pledge from the trans-Atlantic military alliance that it will never accept Ukraine as a member. But Russia denies seeking a pretext to invade Ukraine or planning an attack.

The US and NATO have made it clear that they are not willing to directly interfere into a military clash between Russia and Ukraine. Media reports indicate that the US and its European allies are now mulling sanctions against Russian banks in case of an attack on Ukraine, possibly cutting them off from the international SWIFT payment system. But such a move would also damage Western economies.

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