Russia said on Monday it would send what it described as 'uncomfortable' signals to the United States ahead of a summit between the two countries' leaders next month and announced it was beefing up its western border militarily.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov speaks during a news conference in Moscow, Russia February 7, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
The comments came a day after U.S. President Joe Biden said he would press Russian President Vladimir Putin to respect human rights when the two leaders meet in Geneva on June 16. Relations between the two powers are at post-Cold War lows. Ryabkov said Russia would be prepared to respond to Biden's queries about human rights in Russia and said that Moscow was being more flexible than Washington when it came to drawing up an agenda for the summit, RIA reported.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday that the United States and the NATO transatlantic alliance had recently increased military activity to the West of Russia, which required a response from Moscow.