(Bloomberg) — High-level diplomacy continues in a bid to defuse the situation around Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden will talk with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz later Wednesday ahead of an emergency summit of European leaders on Ukraine the next day. Group of Seven foreign ministers will then meet in person in Munich on Saturday. High-level diplomacy continues in a bid to defuse the situation around Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden will talk with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz later Wednesday ahead of an emergency summit of European leaders on Ukraine the next day. Group of Seven foreign ministers will then meet in person in Munich on Saturday. Oil advanced and the ruble decline as western officials voiced reservations about Russian announcements that some of its forces are being drawn down. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said there’s no proof of de-escalation and it appears Russia is continuing its military build-up, comments later endorsed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Kremlin denied the claim. The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier Wednesday that more troops were returning to their bases after maneuvers ended in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Russia hasn’t yet announced pullbacks of large numbers of troops in the country’s southwest along the Ukrainian border and in Belarus, where exercises are scheduled to end Feb. 20. Officials in Moscow have dismissed U.S. warnings of a possible invasion of Ukraine as “hysteria” and propaganda. NATO’s Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels that the situation in Ukraine shows that Europe is facing a long-term security crisis. “Moscow has made it clear that it is prepared to contest the fundamental principles that have underpinned our security for decades and to do so by using force,” Stoltenberg said. “I regret to say that this is the new normal in Europe.” NN: This is a dangerous game. Russia has huge currency reserves. And Oil approaching $100 means this is a self funding enterprise. The issues are NATO expansion and supplying advanced weapons systems to former Soviet Union states. And Putin is royally pissed off that he has not been granted a permit for his pipeline to Germany. I believe Europe wili cave in… in due course..