Blinken begins tour in Eastern Europe
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived today in the capital of Moldova, Chisinau. This is the first stop of a short tour of Europe aimed at strengthening Western support for Ukraine among NATO allies and neighboring countries.
The US diplomat's trip comes amid Kiev's efforts to curb Russian attacks in the east, while President Vladimir Putin has warned that Ukraine's use of Western weapons to strike inside Russia could trigger a global conflict.
During this week, Blinken will go to Prague to participate in an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
After more than two years of war that is estimated to be the deadliest in Europe since World War II, Western allies are debating how to stop the advance of Russian forces as President Putin increasingly raises the risk of a global war.
A critical issue has been whether the allies will allow Ukraine to use Western weapons to carry out attacks inside Russia, a topic that could be discussed at the Prague meeting.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg asked alliance members to allow Ukraine to use their weapons for attacks inside Russia, which angered Moscow.
