“What is happening, both in the area of information and de facto, by the United States, is an escalation of tension,” the Russian official told reporters, and added that Moscow is watching Washington’s actions with great concern.

Regarding the Pentagon’s statements on its will to send 8,500 military personnel to Europe, Peskov said that the decision “does not affect the course of negotiations” on legal security guarantees between the two countries.

He pointed out that the meetings on that issue at the current stage have concluded, and clarified that in order to reach an understanding on how and when they will continue, Russia needs the responses by the United States and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to the proposals presented by Moscow.

After talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Geneva on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that Washington will deliver written responses this week to the drafts on security guarantees submitted by Russia.

According to the Russian official, that was one of the results of the Geneva meeting, although he warned that the White House representatives again tried to make any progress conditional on the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.

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