Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday the country wanted to send the U.S. “uncomfortable” signals ahead of a meeting between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva next month, Reuters reports.
Russia also announced it would be enhancing its military presence at its western border.
“The Americans must assume that a number of signals from Moscow … will be uncomfortable for them, including in the coming days,” Ryabkov said, according to the Russian RIA news agency.
According to Ryabkov, Russia was prepared to respond to Biden’s remarks on Sunday in which he said he would call on Putin to respect human rights during their June meeting.
“I’ll be meeting with President Putin in a couple weeks in Geneva making it clear that we will not, we will not, stand by and let him abuse those rights,” Biden said during a Memorial Day service held Sunday in Delaware.
The foreign ministry official claimed Russia was more flexible than the U.S. when it came to putting together an agenda for the Geneva summit.
Reuters notes that relations between the U.S. and Russia are at significant lows, exacerbated by the imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, military buildup at the Ukraine border and allegations of election hacking.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Monday said that the U.S. and its NATO allies increasing military activity west of Russia was what prompted the recent increase in its military presence, Reuters reports.
“The actions of our Western colleagues are destroying the world’s security system and force us to take adequate countermeasures,” Shoigu said according to the Russian Interfax news agency.