The world is nervously watching the buildup of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine

and wondering when, not if, they will watch an attack.

As the United States and the West turn up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin,

diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation continue.

Linda Thomas Greenfield, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, is leading

those efforts at the UN.

But even she left no doubt what could happen if diplomacy fails.

They can opt for de-escalation, they can opt for dialogue, they can opt for diplomacy,

or they can take the alternative route, which would be an aggressive action against Ukraine,

and our response will be strong to that action.

A lot has happened since this conversation was first recorded on January 18th for Washington

Post Live.

But the fundamentals of what Ambassador Thomas Greenfield discusses hold firm.

Joining me now is the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield.

Ambassador, welcome back to Cape Hard.

I, Jonathan, how are you, delighted to be here with you.

I am great.

Thank you so much for coming back to the podcast, but also we are coming back now.

There is so much breaking news to get to in this interview about Ukraine.

Let's start with the news that hit just moments before we came on, and that is Secretary

of State Anthony Blinken is headed to Ukraine this week.

Do you know what precipitated the Secretary of State's previously unplanned travel to

...