US Secretary of State Anthony Blink will meet today (Wednesday) with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, during Blink's visit to Russia, amid growing tensions between Washington and Moscow over the escalating military situation in eastern Ukraine.
Lavrov said before the meeting with the US Secretary of State that President Putin is not interested in a new conflict in Ukraine, although he claims that "tensions in the region are higher than ever."
Lavrov argued that Russia and the United States should "adhere to a responsible approach" and added that it would reveal to Blinken a plan to establish a new security body with European member states and help mediate conflicts.
A senior US Secretary of State told Reuters ahead of the meeting: "Beyond clarifying the price of Russian military operations, I am sure the Secretary of State will want to make it clear to the Russians that there is a diplomatic option and a solution to the crisis and is a full implementation of Minsk conference resolutions."
But despite the diplomatic remarks before the meeting, Moscow is making it clear that the situation in Ukraine is close to flaring up, while on the other hand they continue to argue that no Russian military action is planned in the country.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned of a "nightmarish scenario" in the event of a flare-up on Russia's western border.
Spokeswoman for the Presidential Office, Maria Zichrova, received a reception for the concentration of Ukrainian army forces in the Donbas area, where pro-Russian separatists and mercenaries are conducting an uprising against the rule of Kiev.
"According to some reports there are more than one hundred thousand Ukrainian soldiers in the Donbas area, for those who do not know, this is half of Ukraine's military force," Zakharova said.
Zakharova did not comment on the concentration of Russian forces near the eastern border of Ukraine and includes close to a million soldiers, tens of thousands of tanks and armored vehicles as well as fighter jets and helicopters.
Moscow claims that Russia's right to move forces in its territory and that the country has no intention of carrying out military action in Ukraine.
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