Europe

BERLIN (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Germany’s chancellor on Tuesday after the Kremlin signaled that it was still possible for diplomacy to head off what Western officials have said could be an imminent invasion of Ukraine.

In another possible sign that the Kremlin would like to lower the temperature, Russia announced that some units participating in military exercises would begin returning to their bases.

But much remains unclear about Russia’s intentions and how the crisis over Ukraine will play out.

LONDON (AP) — If forced to choose, Novak Djokovic said he would skip the French Open and Wimbledon, foregoing the chance to overtake Rafael Nadal’s record haul of 21 Grand Slams titles, rather than get vaccinated against COVID-19.

And the No. 1-ranked tennis player is also still smarting about being deported last month from Australia in a drama about his vaccination status that polarized opinion worldwide.

MOSCOW (AP) — While the U.S. warns that Russia could invade Ukraine any day, the drumbeat of war is all but unheard in Moscow, where pundits and ordinary people alike don’t expect President Vladimir Putin to launch an attack on its ex-Soviet neighbor.

The Kremlin has cast the U.S. warnings of an imminent attack as “hysteria” and “absurdity,” and many Russians believe that Washington is deliberately stoking panic and fomenting tensions to trigger a conflict for domestic reasons.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia said Tuesday that some units participating in military exercises would begin returning to their bases, adding to glimmers of hope that the Kremlin may not be planning to invade Ukraine imminently. But it gave no details on where the troops were pulling back from, or how many.

KIEV, February 14. /TASS/: The issue of Ukraine’s membership in any alliances is not on the agenda, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday after talks with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev.

KIEV, February 14. /TASS/: The issue of Ukraine’s membership in any alliances is not on the agenda, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday after talks with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev.

MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/: Large-scale movements of troops are observed in Ukraine near the territories of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) , which only escalates tensions in the region, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/: The European Union will not use preventive sanctions against Russia due to the situation around Ukraine because of the position of a number of European countries that advocate a more balanced and moderate approach towards the Russian Federation, Deputy Director at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Valdai Club expert Dmitry Suslov said in an interview with TASS on Monday.

MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/: Russia still has a chance to reach a consensus with its Western partners on issues of security guarantees, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

When asked by the president whether there is a change to reach an agreement with the Western partners on the key security issues of concerns of the Russian side, the minister answered in the affirmative. "After all, as a foreign minister, I should say that there always is a chance," he said.

MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will discuss de-escalation around Ukraine, security guarantees and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline at a meeting, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

"All these subjects obviously top the agenda," the Kremlin spokesman said when asked to clarify whether de-escalation around Ukraine, security guarantees and Nord Stream 2 will be discussed at the leaders' meeting.