Diplomats meet in Moscow and Berlin as Russia holds drills

Britain’s top diplomat has urged Russia to take the path of diplomacy even as thousands of Russian troops engaged in sweeping maneuvers in Belarus as part of a military buildup near Ukraine

MOSCOW -- Britain’s top diplomat urged Russia on Thursday to defuse tensions over Ukraine and take the path of diplomacy even as thousands of Russian troops engaged in sweeping maneuvers in Belarus as part of a military buildup near Ukraine that has fueled Western fears of an invasion.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss again warned Russia that attacking its neighbor would “have massive consequences and carry severe costs,” urging Moscow to abide by its international agreements that commit it to respecting Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty.

Seated across a table from Truss with a grim face, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov set a stern tone for the talks, emphasizing that Moscow won't accept Western lecturing.

“Ideological approaches, ultimatums and moralizing is a road to nowhere,” Lavrov said, noting that his talks with Truss marked the first meeting of the two countries' top diplomats in more than four years. Russia-U.K. ties have been badly strained by the March 2018 poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in England and other sources of tension.