It confirmed that the Russian build-up with Ukraine is the largest since 2014 ... Washington is reluctant to comment on sending two warships to the Black Sea.

The Pentagon declined to comment on Turkish statements stating that the United States intends to send two warships to the Black Sea next week, amid an escalation in the intensity of the conflict during the past days between Ukrainian forces and the pro-Russian separatists.

While the US Department of Defense did not disclose information about its plans to send two warships to the Black Sea;

She said that the US military routinely sends ships to the area.

"This is not a new thing," said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, referring to the presence of US warships in the Black Sea.

The American CNN network revealed that Washington is considering sending warships to the Black Sea in the coming weeks to support Kiev, amid the increasing military buildup of the Russian army on the eastern border with Ukraine.

She is the oldest in years

Kirby said that the Russian military build-up on the border with Ukraine, and in the Crimea, is the largest since 2014, and it is the same information that the White House confirmed earlier.

Kirby called on Russia to be more transparent about its intentions, goals and what it is doing, noting that Moscow did not enjoy this transparency, "it is causing more instability in this region of the world, which has witnessed great violence, as Ukrainian soldiers were killed last month."

According to him.

For her part, White House spokeswoman Jane Saki said that her country is coordinating with its allies and partners regarding Russian military moves on the Ukrainian border.

She added that Washington is sharing intelligence with its allies in order to deal with the Russian moves.

The US State Department also expressed its concern about what it described as the Russian measures to escalate tension in Ukraine, praising the continued restraint on the part of Kiev in the face of provocations.

In a related context, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian confirmed their support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Blinken also held a call with his German counterpart Heiko Maas, during which they stressed the importance of supporting Ukraine against what he described as unilateral Russian provocations.

For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan developments in Ukraine, and monitored the current situation in the Black Sea according to the "Montreux" agreement.

The Russian embassy in Ankara said that Turkey had informed Moscow of the expected transit of American ships towards the Black Sea, according to the "Montreux" treaty.

The Al-Jazeera correspondent in Ankara quoted sources in the Turkish Foreign Ministry as saying that Ankara was informed - through diplomatic channels 15 days ago - that two American warships will head to the Black Sea, in accordance with the "Montreux" agreement, and they will remain until May 4.

Armistice and confrontation

The latest tensions and increased clashes this year with pro-Russian separatists follow a widely observed truce during the second half of 2020.

The war in the Donbas region began in April 2014, shortly after Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in the wake of a pro-Western uprising in that country.

The conflict has left more than 13 thousand people dead since then, and led to the displacement of about 1.5 million people. The fighting has greatly decreased after the Minsk peace agreements were reached at the beginning of 2015, but the political process did not progress much after that.