Moscow: Russia's top diplomat on Monday angrily rejected the US allegations that it was preparing a pretext to invade Ukraine as Russian troops have remained concentrated near the border.
The White House said Friday that US intelligence officials had concluded that Russia had already deployed operatives to rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine to carry out acts of sabotage there and blame them on Ukraine in a false-flag operation to create a pretext for possible invasion.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the US claim as total disinformation.
He reaffirmed that Russia expects a written response this week from the US and its allies to Moscow's request for binding guarantees that NATO will not embrace Ukraine or any other ex-Soviet nations, or station its forces and weapons there.
Washington and its allies firmly rejected Moscow's demands during last week's Russia-US negotiations in Geneva and a related NATO-Russia meeting in Brussels, which were held as an estimated 100,000 Russian troops with tanks and other heavy weapons are massed near Ukraine in what the West fears might be a prelude to an invasion.
A delegation of US senators is visiting Ukraine to emphasise the US support for the
country.