US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday he will not present a formal response to Russian proposals on the Ukraine crisis in talks this week, saying the two sides needed to explore common ground.

Russia says talks with the West over the situation around Ukraine have hit a “dead end,” and that there is no reason to hold a new round of negotiations.

The US Democratic Senators are expected to present a new sanctions bill on Wednesday against Russia, which would inflict “severe costs” on the country’s economy

Russia’s deputy foreign minister says Moscow is "disappointed" by signals from Washington and Brussels ahead of talks on soaring tensions over Ukraine.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says the escalation of tensions between Moscow and Washington over the situation around Ukraine could culminate in a repeat of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis that pushed the world to the brink of a full-scale nuclear war.

Russia says the US needs to revise its policy of draconian sanctions against Iran in order to revive the JCPOA.

Iran and Russia stress that the new talks with remaining parties to the nuclear agreement would succeed only if they lead to the removal of anti-Iran sanctions.