As German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets Baltic leaders in Berlin on Thursday, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson travels to NATO and Poland, hopes are building that attempts to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine are beginning to bear fruit.
Diplomatic action has stepped up in the face of the greatest standoff between Russia and the West since the Cold War, with European politicians racing across the continent in an attempt to resolve the crisis.
Scholz said he observed “progress” on the diplomatic front ahead of his meeting with Baltic leaders.
“The task is that we ensure the security in Europe, and I believe that that will be achieved,” he said at a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday.
The new German chancellor, who has faced criticism for dithering on the situation, will travel to Kyiv and Moscow next week for separate discussions with Ukrainian and Russian officials, including his first face-to-face encounter with President Vladimir Putin.
On a less upbeat note, Britain indicated on Wednesday that it was prepared to send 1,000 extra troops to Ukraine to deal with any humanitarian disaster.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Moscow must choose a peaceful route in Ukraine or face “huge consequences” from Western sanctions, speaking from Moscow ahead of a meeting with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
Johnson will follow up on that message with a trip to Brussels on Thursday to visit NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg before meeting with his Polish colleague.
