Antony Blinken discusses Russia's aggression against Ukraine with France's Le Drian

The movement of Russian troops along the border with Ukraine has alarmed the United States and its allies. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday spoke with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian addressing the reports concerning Russian aggression against Ukraine, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. The diplomats also discussed "joint efforts to address Iran's nuclear program," Secretary Blinken wrote on Twitter.

Both, Blinken and Le Drian asserted the US and its allies' "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," Price said in a statement.

The meeting also comes a day after Blinken told reporters that the US fears a rerun of the after-early phase of the pro-western revolution conflict in Kyiv in 2014.

'High probability of destabilisation'

Notably, the looming concerns have increased manifold after Russia amassed more than 90,000 troops at its border with Ukraine, Financial Times reported, citing Kyiv's deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar. Speaking about the intensity of Russian military deployment along Ukrainian borders compared to yesteryears, Maliar was quoted by Financial Times as saying, “Information of our (military intelligence services) coincides with the information of partner countries about the high probability of destabilisation of the situation in Ukraine this winter.” The Ukrainian deputy foreign minister added that the conclusions by America were not "based on only information" but Washington's knowledge about Russian President Vladimir Putin's intentions.

As per the Financial Times report, last week the US briefed its allies about a "possible invasion" of Ukraine by the Russian army. As per Kyiv's intelligence agency estimates, nearly 114,000 soldiers are deployed to the north, east and south of Ukraine, including 92,000 ground soldiers and rest in air and sea, chief of Ukraine military, Kyrylo Budanov informed.

Putin accuses NATO of fuelling tensions

Meanwhile, Russian President Putin has refuted claims of the West, by calling them "alarmist". Speaking to a state television last weekend, Putin raised questions about the unannounced NATO drills in the Black Sea. Furthermore, the Russian President said he warned his defence ministry away from conducting its own unplanned drills in the region because “there’s no need to aggravate the situation further", Financial Times reported.

"You get the impression, they just won't let us let our guard down. Well, let them know that we're not letting our guard down," the Russian President was quoted as saying.

It should be mentioned here that the situation in the Ukraine-Russia border aggravated after the Russian military started building up resilience near the breakaway Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, engaging in frequent training drills.

(Image: AP)