Now that Crimea has gone to the Russians, and the east of Ukraine is sliding in the same direction, where does Foreign Secretary William Hague go? To Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia.
This is diplomacy by signalling. The signal to Moscow is 'Don't even think about going any further', and to Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia 'You want to be part of the West - we will help you'.
Speaking to Sky News, the Foreign Secretary said the trip was to "show our support... Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia have all made great efforts to build free societies and they deserve our backing".
However, there was also a stark warning about the need for reform. "In each case, they need to carry out substantial reforms to ensure the rule of law and sustainable economic development, especially in tackling corruption," he said.
There will also be a visit to Austria for a meeting of the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) which recently had several of its monitors held hostage in eastern Ukraine.
Mr Hague is travelling in a 13-seater charter jet for the whirlwind four-day tour.
The violence is continuing in Ukraine This allows the 20-plus meetings which have been arranged to be scheduled according to his timetable, as opposed to those of the commercial airlines.
Sky News is the only news team on the plane.
The Moldova leg of the trip comes as renewed murmurings of unrest are heard from the predominantly Russian-speaking region of Transdniestria.
The region is a long way from Russia, but closer to areas in Ukraine which have Russian speakers such as Odessa.
Transdniestria is virtually self-governing and is influenced by Moscow.
The UK and other EU countries want to reassure Moldova that they will help it to lock itself into the Western system, and to cope with the rumblings of independence in Transdniestria.
A month ago, a pro-Russian demonstration was held in the Moldovan capital Chisinau but attracted only several dozen people.
Georgia has similar problems with its breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both now under Russian domination.
The situation in Ukraine is well-known and there is a sense in Western capitals that there is little that can be done to prevent eastern Ukraine becoming semi-autonomous or even independent.
The flurry of diplomatic activity now is to try to prevent violence in the east, and to signal to the Russians - this far and no further.
Mr Hague said: "Clearly Ukraine is under immense pressure from Russian attempts to destabilise the country, provoke violence, and, it seems, prevent elections later this month."
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