U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was speaking to his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, by phone, a senior State Department official said.

“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today by phone to discuss acute and shared concerns that Russia may be considering launching further military aggression against Ukraine in the coming days.

The Secretary made clear that a diplomatic path to resolving the crisis remained open, but it would require Moscow to deescalate and engage in good-faith discussions. He reiterated that should Moscow pursue the path of aggression and further invade Ukraine, it would result in a resolute, massive, and united Transatlantic response”, - reads the statement.