Moscow would face a “swift, severe and a united response” if it invaded Ukraine, US secretary of state Antony Blinken warned as talks with Russia’s foreign minister broke up with no breakthroughs.
The pair agreed to keep up diplomatic contacts, and Mr Blinken described the talks with Sergei Lavrov as frank and useful.
He said Washington had agreed to provide a written response to Russia over its demands for a pledge that Ukraine will never join Nato.
Russia has bolstered its military deployment on the border with Ukraine to 106,000 troops, as well as air and sea power, according to western and Ukrainian officials.
Mr Blinken said Mr Lavrov had repeated Russia’s insistence that it has no plans to invade Ukraine but stressed that the US and its allies were not convinced of that. “We’re looking at what is visible to all, and it is deeds and actions and not words that make all the difference,” he said.
Mr Lavrov called the talks “constructive and useful”.
Nato has rejected Russian demands to withdraw its forces from Romania and Bulgaria.
See below for how our coverage unfolded.
