Amid Ukraine crisis, UK PM Johnson to visit region next week

FILE PHOTO: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson walks outside Downing Street in London, Britain, January 25, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will step up diplomatic efforts over the Ukraine crisis with a visit to the region next week and a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a bid to avoid bloodshed.

Russia has massed troops on Ukraine's border, and Putin has said that the United States and NATO have not addressed Moscow's main security demands, though he was ready to keep talking.