Antony Blinken, French counterpart discuss Russian military activity near Ukraine border

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a telephonic conversation with his French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian during which they discussed 'concerning' Russian military activity in and near Ukraine.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price, in a short statement on Sunday, said that the two leaders spoke about their continued ironclad commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke yesterday with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to discuss reports concerning Russian military activity in and near Ukraine and their continued ironclad commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. They also discussed joint efforts to address Iran's nuclear program," the statement read.

Ukraine has accused Russia of sending thousands of troops along the Ukraine border.

Recently, Blinken said that the US is "concerned by reports of unusual Russian military activity" and the possibility that Russia may be "attempting to rehash" its 2014 invasion of Ukraine.

"Our concern is that Russia may make a serious mistake of attempting to rehash what it undertook back in 2014, when it amassed forces along the border, crossed into sovereign Ukrainian territory and did so claiming falsely that it was provoked," Blinken said, referring to Russia's invasion of Crimea.

"So the playbook that we've seen in the past was to claim some provocation as a rationale for doing what it, what it intended and planned to do. All which is why we're looking at this very carefully," he added.

Ukraine last week said that Russia has kept tens of thousands of troops not far from the border after war games.

The Ukrainian defence ministry said about 90,000 Russian troops are stationed not far from the border and in rebel-controlled areas in Ukraine's east.

(ANI)

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