that europe could face some sort of retaliatory measures, diplomatic energy security measures in the meantime, should those type of draconian sanctions be put on the table by the united states. but essentially, the problem here is that both sides have to keep talking. otherwise, what they can t afford, at least from the west s perspective, is for these talks to end up being a failure, and if that being a pretext to vladimir putin to take action in a place like ukraine. as you said, the backdrop to all of this that has been unexpected in the last couple of weeks is the strife in kazakhstan, and there is the specter of russian military intervention there. and some of the question marks that will be around the table in the back of diplomats minds will be can vladimir putin afford to have armies on both sides of eurasia involved in conflicts at this time. kristie? they have to keep that channel of communication open, even with that question mark over kazakhstan. nina desantos reporting