WASHINGTON, Nov 30 (KUNA) -- White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday the United States remains "deeply concerned" about heightened rhetoric around a reported Russian military buildup on Ukraine's border.
"Nothing's broken. And that is something Secretary (of State Antony J.) Blinken also spoke to on the ground. He is in Europe right now in Latvia. At the NATO ministerial, and that's something he will be in close coordination and discussion with his European partners about in terms of what coordinated steps should be taken in that regard," she said.
Psaki, speaking to reporters aboard a presidential plane en route to Minnesota State, noted that she had no new details regarding a possible meeting between US President Joe Biden and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
"Obviously, we remain in touch as a follow up to the summit this summer at a high level with Russian counterparts," she added.
On a similar note, Blinken said, "NATO has deployed four multinational battle groups to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland to bolster deterrence in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2014." "This cooperation is vital, and it remains vital in the face of ongoing Russian actions in Ukraine, its increasingly belligerent rhetoric, its recent buildup of forces, its unusual troop movements along Ukraine's border," he said a joint press conference with Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics in Riga.
"let me just reiterate that any escalatory actions by Russia would be of great concern to the United States, as they would to Latvia, and any renewed aggression would trigger serious consequences," he added. (end) asj.gb